Speaking in Benin on Thursday the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development Mr. Nebeolisa Anako said:
“Following the news making the rounds that the Edo State Government will shut down the National sports Festival if the Federal Government support does not come through.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is the Organiser of the National Sports festival while the Edo State Government is the host. I wish to announce that the Athletes are in their various game villages and games are ongoing following the intervention of the Presidency assuring that the financial support to the Edo State Government is in it final processing stage.

“The games are not under threat. There was an Information gap earlier but as we speak, the games are ongoing and we assure you there won’t be any closure till the closing of the National Sports Festival” The Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; Mr. Nebeolisa Anako concluded.

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Media office of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development

The Minister of youth and sports Development Mr. Sunday Dare has reassured that the February 14th 2021 kick off date for the National Sports Festival remains Sacrosanct.

According to the Minister, “After the National Sports Festival in February this year, we will move to the National Youth Games and continue the build up to the Olympic Games “.

Building quality facilities and engaging good coaches, which are keys to producing World- class athletes, require heavy investment.

“We have asked for 25 percent of the Lottery Fund to come to sports. Jamaica and England give between 31 to 38 Percent of their Lottery Funds to sports, but right now we are getting nothing from the fund.

We hope to get the approval for the Lottery Fund money in the first quarter of the year.”
On the adopt-an-athlete initiative, which was introduced to cater for athletes’ welfare, Dare said it has been successful so far, assuring that this year, it would accommodate more athletes.
“The initiative provides $10, 000 training Funds for home-based athletes, while the foreign-based get $20, 000.The money’s goes directly to the athletes, who are expected to use it for their training, medicals and travels for competitions.

The benefiting athletes sign MOUs with the adopting companies or individuals so that all the parties are protected.
“The initiative was stalled by the COVID-19 outbreak last year, but more companies have lined up to be part of it. We are looking at an initial 48 athletes benefiting “

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Media Office To The Minister Of Youth And Sports Development

The Governor claimed to have obtained a Higher School Leaving Certificate from an Institution of Continuing Education in Benin City.

However, independent checks revealed that such certificate is alien to the country’s education system and Obaseki, during the party’s screening, admitted that he never at any point received the certificate.

His NYSC certificate also raised serious doubts given the alien name it carries and the governor’s failure to address the inconsistency for years.

News of Obaseki’s disqualification elicited wild jubilation on the streets of Benin, the Edo State capital and other towns in the state, with some excitement also noted in the Government House from aides who are reportedly frustrated with the Governor’s reckless actions and violent inclinations.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has disclosed its readiness to accept Governor Obaseki as its candidate if he chose to decamp to the former ruling party.

PDP’s Spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan stated this Abuja late Friday.