Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe has insisted that his investment in sports development in his Senatorial District is not for a political statement nor financial gain but to genuinely contribute to the young sporting talents and improve their welfare.
Senator Jaribe who spoke through his special adviser, legal and public affair, First Baba Isa, described sports as a lucrative industry and channel for harnessing youthful energy toward building multi-million dollar careers and community empowerment.
He said what motivated him in giving back to his people using sports is what made him go into the public sector to serve his people and improve their welfare.
“What motivated the Distinguish Senator in giving back to his people in the area of sports is what made him generally go into the public sector, being the House of Representatives member and later becoming a senator, is to serve the people and improve their welfare. Sports all over the world is an avenue that helps every leader to easily better and improve the wellbeing of his people. It is a sector that one can easily go into to empower his people.
“Sports is a lucrative industry and channel for harnessing youthful energy, medium for unity, community development and hurting their talents toward building multi-million dollar careers as sports persons,” Jaribe said.
Jaribe, a politician and philanthropist, while calling on politicians like him to invest in sports development, if it means making a political statement with it, expressed his commitment to rally round his colleagues in the National Assembly to ensure adequate budgetary provision for sports development in Nigeria.
“What the senator is doing is a sincere development of sports and not for a political statement. But he is a politician like every other politician and if our politicians can make a political statement with real live sports development as Senator Jarigbe is doing in his constituency, I don’t see a problem with that. It is a political gimmick, the Mini-sports-stadium he built is there for all to see. Recreation center is there and personal individual contributions to young sports men and women in his constituency are all there for everyone to see, but if you said it is a political statement, then we want our politicians to make such a political statement because it is worthy of emulation.”
He said his nomination for best performing Senator in sports development by the Nigerian Sports Merit Award will spur him to do more.
