Chairman of Ratels Sports Development Foundation (RSDF), Barr Paul Edeh, has thrown his weight behind Ogun State to pull the string in staging a successful National Sports Festival (NSF) come 2024.
Ogun State was announced as the hosts of the 22nd edition of the biannual championship dogged as ‘Nigerian Olympics’ after winning the bid against five other states who submitted bids to the event.
Speaking to newsmen recently in Abuja, RSDF boss said Ogun stands out with regards to sports development in Nigeria and it wasn’t a blunder that they’ll welcome the entire country to the state for 22nd National Sports Festival.
Edeh, who also the proprietor of the Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) side, Naija Retels, expressed delight that Ogun will be the center of unity amongst various states come 2024, stressing that Dapo Abiodun-led lead state will replicate the successes recorded in Delta State at the just concluded games in Asaba.
“I’m happy Ogun State will be hosting the next National Sports Festival because they’ve also given a lot to the development of sports. I think it also brings to the fore the fact that the National Sports Festival is supposed to be a harbinger of unity amongst the various states.
“The just concluded one happened in Delta State, the next goes to Ogun, perhaps the next one will also go to Zamfara, so if we go round the country it will also make or enable the various states that are going to be hosting to prepare better.
‘I’m sure Delta this year took a lot of gold medals because from day 1 that it was announced they were not going to count the number of states that came to participate or the number of athletes, they came prepared and I’m sure Ogun State will follow suit to reflect on the medals table when eventually they end up hosting,” Barrister said.
