Abbo, Usman clinch IBB Past Captain/Lady Captain special appreciation kitty

Posted : 27 September 2024

Hamid Abbo and Adekumbi Usman have emerged as the winners of the 2024 IBB Past Captains/Past Lady Captains Special Appreciation Kitty held at the IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja.

The Special Appreciation Kitty, organized by the IBB Ladies Golf Section, had no fewer than 200 golfers participating and competing for honors at the event.

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Abbo scored 37 Stableford points to clinch the highest prize in the Past Captain’s category, while Usman also scored 37 points to emerge as the winner in the Past Lady Captain’s category.

An elated Usman, who was the Lady Captain of the club in 2015, told newsmen that she was surprised and delighted to have won against all odds.

“Unbelievably! When I started this morning, I never knew that I would come out on top at the end.

“My first, second, and third holes were good. But when I got to the fourth hole, it became a different story, and I told myself that there was no need to feel any pressure.

“I chose instead to just enjoy the game and continue, and that was what carried me through from hole four up to hole 18.

“So, I was so surprised to hear my name this night as the winner,” she said.

In the Auxiliary Award category, D. Mamza won the prize for the longest drive for ladies with a distance of 159 meters, while Adamu Salisu won the longest drive for men with a distance of 252 meters.

Faridah Wada won the nearest to the pin ladies' prize with a distance of 8.8 feet on hole 12, while Bamidele Obiniyi won the nearest to the pin prize for men with a distance of 3.1 feet.

Dame Julie Donli, the Lady Captain of the club and host of the event, spoke to newsmen on the sidelines of the tee-off ceremony.

Donli said the decision to celebrate the past captains was borne out of the need to appreciate those who had made an impact and left an indelible mark on the club.

She stated that the Executive Committee of the Ladies Golf Section felt it was imperative to celebrate the past captains and past lady captains of the club because it is a continuum.

“We are building from where they left off. There are a lot of things that we learned from them, and they still give us a lot of advice from time to time.

“When we are a little confused about one or two things, we go to them, and they are always there to guide and lead us.

“They tell us, ‘This is how we did it. Yes, you can improve upon it; you can think outside the box, but if you go this way, it will help you.’

“So, we felt that captains come and go. There are some who made an impact while they were here, and some of their impacts are still being sustained.

“People like that are very special to us, and so we decided that it was time for us to celebrate our past captains, and that informed our decision,” Donli said.

She expressed her gratitude to all the past captains and past lady captains, adding that she wished them well with good health, long life, and prosperity.

Ibrahim Babayo, the captain of the club, said the idea behind the kitty was to appreciate the past captains and lady captains for their selfless service to the club.

“As you know, any service rendered by any executive member of this club is voluntary. There is no remuneration whatsoever for the services rendered to the club.

“So, this is our little way of showing appreciation,” he said.

Babayo noted that the scheduling of the kitty was to add glamour to this year’s Independence Golf and Tennis Tournament, adding that it was the idea of the ladies' section to host the event during the week of the Independence Tournament.

Mrs. Bose Ngozi Onwuegbu, the chairperson of the Planning Committee, noted that this year’s Appreciation Kitty was the biggest and first of its kind ever in the history of the club.

“I am happy to have been entrusted with the huge responsibility of chairing this unique and special event.

“It has been happening here but was usually held only for the past captains. However, this year, the Lady Captain of the club deemed it fit to appreciate both the past captains and past lady captains of the club.

“As the chairperson of this event, I am highly elated and give thanks to God for making this possible and blessing us with good weather.

“We also brought in the Afro-Juju master himself, Sir Shina Peters, to thrill us with some of his beautiful, evergreen music, and we thank God everyone enjoyed themselves and had fun,” she said.

Special guests at the tee-off ceremony included Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, and Mrs. Folashade Joseph, MD/CEO of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC).

Others included Dr. Aisha Achimugu, CEO of Falax Oil and Gas, Chief Mrs. Ngozi Osuhor, a past lady captain of the club, Hamid Abbo, also a past captain of the club, and Mr. Osas Idahosa, a friend of the IBB Lady Section.

Abbo, Usman clinch IBB Past Captain/Lady Captain special appreciation kitty

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