Bayelsa Govt thumbs up for Table Tennis Association, pledges additional supports
By: Odie Ramon, Yenagoa.
Bayelsa State Government says it is pleased with the continuous progress and development of table tennis in the state in the last five years of the Prosperity Administration.
Governor Douye Diri stated this at the official inauguration of the newly renovated Bayelsa State Table Tennis Association Training Hall at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He said the government would support the association to achieve its aim ahead of the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta Ogun State, emphasizing that the target for Bayelsa was to surpass the performance of the last sports festival in Asaba, Delta State.
Governor Douye Diri, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Table Tennis Association, Mr. Ama-ebi Ebikpolade Stow has made his presence felt since he took charge of the association.
The governor, who described Mr. Ama-ebi Stow as a good example to the youths of the state, asserted that the gesture by the chairman would forever be remembered, stressing that his commitment towards the development of table tennis would make the game more popular and rewarding
According to the Bayelsa helmsman, the government is satisfied with the rise of table tennis, and the Prosperity Administration would do everything possible for the tennis association’s chairman to actualize his goal for the sport.
Governor Diri seized the opportunity to charge the state’s table tennis team preparing for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) sports Festival to come up tops, assuring that government would give them the logistics and moral support they need to excel in the games.
His words: “We came here to score two points: First, to show our commitment to our athletes and to also commend those who are doing very well, because the best way to encourage a child learning to walk, is to clap for the child.
“So, we want to commend you, our sportsmen and women. The Chairman has made a lot of promises, and we shall support him to make sure that those promises are fulfilled.
“I believe the young man has done well. He is a good example for youths; he is a good example for our citizens. And I can assure you that Bayelsa State will never forget what you have done.
“I am sure that your prowess will continue to soar for you to become President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation because you will do better with the small we have seen you demonstrate at the state level”
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Sports Development, Dr. Daniel Igali, attributed the significant successes the state has made in sports in recent times to the special attention being given to sports by the present administration and called for more collaborative effort from all stakeholders to take sports to a more enviable level.
In separate goodwill messages, the Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Barr Tare Porri, and Director of Sports, Bayelsa State Sports Council, Sir Braveman Wodi, also appreciated Mr. Ama-ebi Stow for his transformative initiatives and investments in developing table tennis in the state and called on other Bayelsans to emulate him.
Also speaking, Mr. Amaebi Stow, the Bayelsa Table Tennis Association Chairman, said the rehabilitated table tennis hall would serve as a training facility for U-16, paralympic, and deaf athletes.
He equally informed that the training facility for the senior athletes at the Oxbow Lake, called the “Fortress” would be commissioned in two weeks to prepare the state’s athletes for the National Sports Festival in Ogun State later in the year.
