… Over 10,000 athletes participate in 4 venues
… Nigeria’s VP Osinbajo to attend as Special Guest
By Ndu Chris Nwannah, ATM Guest Writer
All is now set for the 12th Biennial Police Games in Anambra State. This will be the first time the festival will be staged in the South East. It has been a platform for tapping and discovering national and international sport talents. Remember that the likes of Chioma Ajunwa and Sunday Bada emerged from the police to represent Nigeria in the international sport arena.
The opening ceremony of the games will take place at Ekwueme Square, Awka on Saturday, 29 February 2020, while the event will end by 1 pm on March 7 at the same venue. Popular musician, Flavour, will be on hand to entertain guests during the opening ceremony. The sporting events will be staged from March 1 to 6 across four arenas in Awka, Oba, Onitsha and Otuocha. The centres are Ekwueme Square, Awka, Rojenny Tourist Village, Oba, Otuocha Township Stadium and Tansi International College, Awka.
The games with the theme ‘Promoting Community Safety through Sports’, will be hosted by Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State; the Chief Host will be Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu; and Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of Nigeria, will be the Special Guest of Honour.
Confirming the availability of the Vice President during a press conference at Anambra State Police Command Headquarters, Awka, the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Mr. Frank Mbah, announced that the vice president would declare the event open. Mr. Mbah said that this underscored the importance of sports in national development. He noted that over 10,000 athletes would vie for honours during the fiesta, stressing that it was an avenue to hunt for future national talents.
The Police Sports Relations Officer in Anambra State, Mrs Nkeiruka Nwode, was hopeful about the success of the games, noting that sport would continue to be a uniting factor in the country.