OVER 1,000 athletes from different parts of the country are now set for the 2026 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games, which begins on February 8 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium (Package B), Abuja. It will end on February 14.

Already, teams representing the participating companies have arrived in Abuja and started training ahead of the games.

Chairman of the Media and Publicity sub-committee for the Games, Simon Nweke, stated that every team is working hard to attain a podium finish in this year’s edition.

“We expect to see very competitive games and the best from our athletes,” he said, adding, “Over 1000 athletes representing the 15 participating companies will be on parade for the week-long multi-sports event.

According to him, this year’s Games will feature sports like chess, scrabble, snooker, volleyball, basketball, badminton, swimming, tennis, table tennis, football finals, and athletics, among others.

Nweke has said that LOC is working hand-in-glove with the various sports federations for technical assistance.

“From the beginning, NOGIG has always partnered with the sports federations to provide us with all the technical assistance, like provision of referees, umpires and other technical officials for the smooth running of the games in accordance with the best practices. We play by the rules, and we can’t deviate from that standard,” he said.

He said Nigerians should expect a colourful opening ceremony, and chief executives of all the participating companies and top government officials will be among the dignitaries to grace the event. (Guardian)