Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has promised that his administration will use the forthcoming National Sports Festival to drive the state’s sports economy.
The governor, who said in Abeokuta yesterday that plans were on to deploy the brand new facilities built for the 22nd National Sports Fdestival to grow the state’s GDP, added that efforts have been made to ensure that all the facilities remain busy long after the festival.
Speaking during a meeting with sports editors in his office, Abiodun said that the MKO International Stadium, Abeokuta, will soon be renamed MKO International Sporting Complex to reflect the multipurpose nature of the arena.
“The National Sports Festival will play a huge part in our economic ecosystem,” the governor said, adding that he has charged former international football star, Chief Segun Odegbami, whom he made Ogun State’s Grand Ambassador, to spearhear the drive to develop the sports economy.
“Having done with providing facilities for the festival, we have turned our attention to developing our culture and tourism industry using sports.
“We assure everybody that is coming for the festival of their safety and an environment good enough to set records,” he said.
The Gateway Games will be staged between May 16 and 31 in Ogun State.
The governor said that the state government was intentional about the forthcoming games, noting that the state decided to bid for the games after making huge and giant strides in other areas.
He said: “We are very deliberate about it. We developed infrastructures, improved massively on security, and other areas, then we moved onto tourism and also sports.
“We are aware that sports unite the people despite our various differences. Again, we are trying to set good standards with the games to be a benchmark in the history of the history of the games.
“The LOC and government have been working day and night to put finishing touches to our preparations. I can boldly say that we are ready.”
Governor Abiodun also expressed delight that for the first time in the history of the games, all athletes competing at the games will be accommodated in the same place.
“It’s going to be a games village, and that’s like Olympics standard,” Abiodun added.
