Ihedioha promises to pay priority attention to sports dev.

Gov. Emeka Ihedioha of Imo has said that his administration will pay priority attention to sports development in order to fish out hidden talents.

Ihedioha said this on Monday during the finals of the football tournament organised by Mr Nnaemeka Anyawu Foundation for the 12 wards in Aboh/Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo.

It was reported that the competition, tagged “Ihedioha’s competition”, was designed to harness the budding talents and unite the youths of the area.

The governor, who was represented by the Chairman of Imo State Sports Commission, Mr Fan Ndubuoke, said the state witnessed a serious setback in sports development in the last eight years.

He said his administration would do everything possible to restore sports to its pride of place in the state and encourage talented athletes to pursue their careers.

Ihedioha commended the sponsor of the tournament for his foresight in bringing the youths together through his foundation.

In a speech, Anyanwu said he was inspired to organise the event by the numerous talents in the rural areas waiting to be uncovered.

He said: “I want to use this competition to prove to everybody that we have talented sports men and women in our communities, who have yet to be identified.

“Besides, I also used the opportunity to empower the youths through the foundation and I tell you that they are all happy with the competition.”

Anyanwu said he decided to name the competition after the governor based on his trackrecord in sports development since he assumed office as governor.

It was reported that Enyi-Ogwugwu Team, which defeated Uvuru Ward II, went home with a cash prize of N600,000, while Uvuru received N400,000.