The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restated its commitment to youth development as part of its contribution towards the overall development of the country.

The assurance was given yesterday in Lagos by Mr. Isaac Okorafor, representative of CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, while speaking at the closing ceremony of the 8th CBN Junior Tennis Championship held at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria remains unwaveringly committed to the development of the creative energies and potential of Nigerian youths,” Mr. Okorafor said.

He acknowledged the outstanding performance of the young players and pledged CBN’s continuous support for activities aimed at discovering and developing talents such as the Junior Tennis Championship.

The week-long championship saw Master Tochukwu Eze from Onitsha, Anambra State, emerging as the Most Valuable Player in the male category while Miss Molade Aderemi was voted as the Most Valuable Female Player of the championship.

The final matches were watched by a large crowd comprising sports administrators, school children and tennis fans, among them celebrities Segun Odegbami, Chioma Ajunwa and Darey Art Alade.

Miss Marylove Edwards of Lagos won the under-12 female category and emerged first runner-up in the under-16 category which was won by Miss Zainab Oladimeji of Ondo State. Miss Chidinma Eze became the champion in the girl’s under-10 category.

Other winners include Gabriel Friday from Kaduna in the under-12 category and Christopher Itodo, also from Kaduna, in the under-14 category.

One of the highlights of the day was the demonstration match between former Green Eagles captain, Segun Odegbami, and music star Darey Art Alade, which saw the former emerging as the winner.

In his address, President of the Nigerian Tennis Federation, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, who was represented by Mr. Bala Haruna, thanked CBN for the continuous support for the development of sports in general and the game of tennis in particular.

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