Gov. Otti receives Niger Delta Games torch, pledges improved Abia outing

It was the turn of Abia State to receive and parade the Niger Delta Games Torch on Thursday morning as one of the Games Ambassadors, Joseph Edidiong, brought it in from Akwa Ibom.

Edidiong, a weight-lifter clad in the colourful Akwa Ibom tracksuit arrived Umuahia Township Stadium and was met by Nwaobilor Ananaba, the State Sports Commissioner and Chairman of the State Liaison Committee.

Mr Ananaba, then led the procession to the Government House where they were received by the Governor, Alex Otti who was represented by the Secretary to the Abia State Government, Emmanuel Meribole and accompanied by Caleb Ajagba, the Chief of Staff at Government House.

Mr Meribole said the state has made necessary preparations to draw a decent performance at the games starting in Benin, Edo State from 20-27 February .

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He charged the athletes to compete with courage and win fairly and congratulated the nine states of the region for being the first to have their own regional multi-sports competition. The SSG expressed the expectation that the region will extend its dominance in discovering and raising athletes for the country.

Mr Meribole commended the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for accepting to sponsor the games as designed and implemented by Dunamis-Icon Limited.

On hand to witness and supervise the process was Fred Edoreh, the Project Director for the Games, who thanked the state for the reception accorded the Torch ceremony.

According to the Torch Tour roster, Imo State is next on the line to receive the Games symbol.