In what will go down as a historic milestone, the maiden edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) has been boosted with the announcement of PremiumTrust Bank as the lead sponsor of the games, which will be held from April 1 to 8 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
At the unveiling ceremony held at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, the Executive Director of Finance and Accounting at NDDC and Chairman of the Main Organising Committee (MOC) of the Games, Hon. Boma Iyaye, stated that the choice of PremiumTrust Bank as the official banker of the festival was due to its past record as one of the biggest supporters of sports in the country.
“NDDC is an intervention agency, and people know us for the construction of roads and projects.
“We decided to go into sports to provide a platform for youths in the Niger Delta to showcase their talents.
“Through this festival, we will be able to discover a lot of talent and hand them over to the National Sports Commission (NSC).
“It is not that the NDDC cannot fund the games alone, but we want corporate organizations like PremiumTrust Bank to play a role because sports help in curbing criminality in our society,” he said.
Iyaye thanked Nilayo Sports Management for bringing PremiumTrust Bank into the games, saying, “We are very happy to have Nilayo Sports as one of our partners.”
The Managing Director of Dunamis Icon Limited, who is also the co-chairman of the MOC for the games, Itiako Ikokpo, was also full of praise for both Nilayo Sports and PremiumTrust Bank, saying that the NDDC Sports Festival has already achieved success even before it begins.
The Managing Director/CEO of PremiumTrust Bank, Mr. Emmanuel Efe Emefienim, stated that his organization does not joke with anything that would enhance the development of sports in the country.
“Apart from being the official banker of the NDDC Games, we are the lead sponsors of the Gateway Games, which will be held in Abeokuta. Before now, we sponsored the National Sports Festival in 2022 in Asaba, and we also sponsored two top Nigerian athletes, Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume, for three years.
“We also kitted Bayelsa Queens for their CAF Champions League campaign, and we sponsored the Abuja Marathon. We do all that because it is our hope that if we provide the platform for the youth to thrive, it will benefit the entire nation,” Emefienim stated.
The Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Mrs. Yetunde Olopade, expressed her appreciation to PremiumTrust Bank as well as the organizers of the NDDC Sports Festival for believing in the company.
She also thanked Dunamis Icon Limited, the official consultant for the games, especially for partnering with Nilayo Sports Management, the official marketing company for the NDSF.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, has revealed that the Chairman of the Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, will be in Uyo on April 1 to declare the NDDC Sports Festival open. He also commended the organizers for the great initiative.
The DG emphasized that the NDSF aligns perfectly with the new vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to build a sustainable sports economy.
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