Adebayo Adenrele
Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has promised the support of his administration to providing a conducive environment for sports to thrive in the basic education sector in the state.
Oyebanji gave the pledge in Ado Ekiti during the finals of
2023 Basic Education Sports Competitions in Nigeria (BESS)
organized by the State Universal Basic Education Board ( SUBEB ) in
collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) at the State capital, Ado Ekiti.
The Governor who was represented by the SUBEB Chairman, Prof. Femi
Akinwumi urged participants to avail themselves of the opportunity
provided by the competition for the promotion of their mental and
physical health as well as for the marketing of their God given
talents to the world.
He called for more support from various stakeholders towards
development of schools sports, urging the participants to maintain
healthy competition among themselves as a combination of sports with academic studies helps promote a better future and spirit of global competitiveness among the pupils.
Oyebanji reiterated the resolve of the state government in conjunction with UBEC to provide sports equipment for public primary schools across the state to facilitate sports development and discovery of budding talents among the pupils.
He commended the organizers of the program for creating such a
platform to identify the sporting potentials among the pupils with the aim of nurturing them to stardom.
In his welcome address, the SUBEB Chairman, Prof. Femi Akinwumi
represented by the Board Permanent Secretary, Dayo Ajobiewe described the uniqueness of the competition to raising the standard of sports, particularly among the youngsters.
Stressing the importance of sports to the overall development of basic
education, Prof. Akinwumi urged the winning athletes and teams who would represent the state in the forthcoming Zonal and National Finals of the BESS Competition to build on the outstanding reputation of the state in athletics and football.
He stressed that the state was proud to have produced the likes of
Olusoji Fasuba and Late Oluyemi Kayode but it is pertinent to produce new talents and future legends.
Akinwumi said it was in recognition of the outstanding performance of
the Late Barcelona 92 Olympics Silver medalist that the State Government renamed the
venue of the competitions after the late Oluyemi Kayode who was
discovered through schools sports program.
He also appealed to stakeholders to support the schools sports program by providing the enabling environment for it to thrive.
The event featured athletics and football competitions and the
high-point was the finals of the football competition in which Moba
local government education area team defeated Ekiti South- West local government area education team by 2-0 while the Ado Ekiti local government team also won 2-0 against Ilejemeje local government in the 3rd place match.
Trophies, medals and prizes were presented to winners and runners up at the end of the competitions.
