As the third edition of the prestigious Nigerian Sports Award scheduled to hold on November 13, 2014 draws nearer, the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola battles his counterparts, Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke and Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for the Sports Governor of the Year Award.
The 3 Governors who have contributed immensely to sports development in Nigeria and have supported Nigerian sport athletes were nominated by the general public for the category which was introduced last year and won by the Delta State Governor.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was nominated for the award for his giant strides in promoting sports in the state a panacea to reduce youth unrest. Uduaghan administration successfully organized the African Youths Athletics Championships which held in Warri last year.
Uduaghan won the award last year could also be credited with the achievement of Blessing Okagbare- Nigeria’s leading athletics star who is also nominated for two categories of the award for the invaluable support of the state government.
For Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, his nominations could be traced to his unalloyed support for all Nigerian National teams which has practically turned the U.J Esuene stadium to the home ground of the teams.
It would be recalled that the Manu Garba tutored Golden Eaglets team that won the last FIFA U17 word cup in UAE camped in Calabar to prepare for the tournament with immense support of Imoke. Imoke also hosted most of the Super Eagles games during the qualifiers for the 2014 world cup in Brazil.
Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State has also contributed significantly to sports development in many ways. His administration has revived all moribund sporting facilities in Lagos and built new ones to redirect the energies of the youth to sports. Among the new ultra-modern sports facilities include the Agege Township stadium and Campos Stadium.
Apart from being a football player who is still playing active football even as a sitting Governor, Fashola through the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Sports have encouraged all the sports association to be active and ensure that have a sports development programme from time to time. One of such is the just concluded Lagos International Table Tennis Classics.
Speaking on the nominees for this year, the General Manager Unmissable Incentives Limited, Kayode Idowu has revealed that the stakes are very high for all 3 nominees as they have earned their spot in this category.
It would be recalled that the three governors were also nominated for the same category of the award last year.