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In a bid to promote sports development, the Bayelsa State Government has called for partnership and support from commercial banks, international oil companies (IOCs), construction firms and other corporate bodies doing business in the state.
The deputy governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the call on Tuesday at a meeting with managers of the commercial banks and representatives of some major construction companies in Government House, Yenagoa.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo said the state has great potential in music and sports, especially in traditional wrestling, which he noted, should be harnessed for the physical, social and economic development of youths in the state.
According to the deputy governor, government is desirous of collaborating with the banks and other development partners to support the state’s main football teams, Bayelsa United and Bayelsa Queens.
He expressed hope that such support would enable the state to win the FA Cup back to back, even as the 2021/2022 Nigerian League season is expected to resume soon.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo maintained that the current focus of the state government was to build consensus with corporate organizations, as it is the standard practice in every clime where sports is thriving.
He said unlike some governments elsewhere that commandeer corporate bodies for sponsorship, the state government has always employed moral suasion in appealing to them to see supporting sports as part of their corporate social responsibility.
His words: “Some of the areas Bayelsa State is good at are music and sports, especially wrestling. We believe that if we begin to plough enough energy, and manure the land for sports and music, we will make our youths very productive.
“We believe that if we catch them young and direct their energies towards these areas, it will be more profitable to us, because sports itself is business. In fact, sports is an untapped business in Nigeria.
“Our intention is to build an effective collaboration between you and our Sports ministry, especially for Bayelsa United and Bayelsa Queens, and in other areas of our sports programmes.
“We are really bent on collaborating with you. We don’t want to build imposed relationship with you. We know that is what some states do; they will just call the bank and say, ‘You, this is the amount, pay.’ We don’t do that because believe we are not operating in a dictatorial hemisphere,” he said.
Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Daniel Igali, described the kind of collaboration being sought by government as the catalyst for sports development elsewhere in Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.
Hon. Igali pointed out that Bayelsa is doing quite well in the field of sports especially in recent times due to the attention and resources government had provided so far to the sector.
The commissioner, who said it was part of his dream that Bayelsa becomes the sports capital of Nigeria, expressed confidence that the partnership, when actualized, would accelerate the pace of sports development in the state
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, some of the bank executives gave pass mark to the state government for its approach and commitment to sports development.
While assuring the state of their readiness to partner government, they promised to forward the proposal to their corporate headquarters for approval and necessary action.
Commercial banks and other corporate bodies represented at the meeting are First Bank, Sterling Bank, Keystone, Ecobank, Access, Zenith and Fidelity Bank.
Others include Heritage Bank, Unity Bank, Setraco and the Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company, CCECC.
