Niger Delta Sports Festival: Organisers set up State Liaison Committees
Ahead of the preliminary trials and selection of state contingents to the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF), the organisers have set up Liaison Committees across the nine participating states to conduct the process.
The Chief Project Consultant of the NDSF, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, announced the formation of the State Liaison Committeees, saying that they are constituted to supervise the preliminary trials and selection of athletes to represent the states at the Niger Delta Sports Festival.
Ikpokpo further explained that the committees are to ensure that the trials/ selection is taken to the grassroots to provide opportunity for athletes in the rural communities to participate.
“This is in line with the objectives of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the project design.
“The committee is composed of representatives of the Project Consultants, Dunamis Icon; the NDDC; officials of the states sports ministries; and selected coaches.
Ikpokpo listed the functions of the state Liaison Committees to include working with the
Technical Heads and officials of each sport to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the trial/selection process in each state, ensuring that the trial/selection process is driven from the local government/federal constituency levels up to the state finals; and that only eligible persons are entered for the trials.
Their duties also entails ensuring that only athletes who participated in the preliminary trials are entered or registered as members of the state contingent to the festival as well as ensuring adequate publicity and public awareness of the preliminary trials/selection in order to elicit wider participation at the grassroots.
The committees are to provide regular reports on proceedings of the trials/selection exercise to the project consultants for follow-up with the Main Organising Committee (MOC)
