By JOHNPAUL ALUMONA

Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa has said that more than 4,000 athletes are competing in the second edition of the Akwa Ibom Sports Festival in 27 sports

Eno disclosed this while declaring open the annual sports festival on Tuesday in Uyo.

Eno, represented by the Deputy governor, Sen. Akon Eyakenyi, said sports play a significant role in his administration’s ARISE agenda, especially in the development and empowerment of youths.

He said the discovery of talents from the grassroots and the passion of the Local Government Areas of the state is to expose youths to sporting opportunities.

“After the 2025 festival, we went on to expose our discovered athletes at the NDDC Games in Delta, where they shone like a million stars.

“We won 16 gold, 17 silver and 22 bronze medals. I have asked the Commissioner for Sports Development to arrange for us to receive them,” the governor said.

Eno said he had approved more financial incentives for the athletes, adding that they would be presented with their cheques.

“Since we hosted that festival, it has been success stories all over for our athletes. Especially, the juniors who have gone ahead to excel in their different sports,”he said.

He also made reference to the state’s weightlifting team, which competed in Egypt and emerged African champions, qualifying to represent Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Eno charged the athletes from the 31 local government areas to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship and showcase their natural talents to excel in sports.

On his part, Paul Bassey, the Commissioner for Sports Development, thanked Eno for sustaining the sports festival, which he said had yielded positive results.

Bassey said the ministry had addressed some of the challenges encountered during the last edition and assured participants that the 2026 edition would be better.

“We have regulated registration, which we made online, to make sure that there is no foul play. All these hard-copy registrations were not good for us.

“We also have some regulations. If you competed for one local government in 2025, you cannot move this year. You need at least three years to be able to move,” Bassey said.

The commissioner advised the athletes to shun drugs and compete with their natural abilities to enable them to achieve greatness in sports.

Bassey said the position an athlete occupied in the festival was not the most important thing, but the potentials demonstrated which could be nurtured to greatness.

Goodwill messages were presented by the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and other stakeholders in Akwa Ibo. (NAN)