Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri was on Saturday night bestowed the Sportsville Governor of the Year Award in recognition of the state’s performance in sports in the last three years of his administration.
The Bayelsa helmsman was represented at the ceremony held at the Lagos Country Club in Ikeja-Lagos by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Dr. Daniel Igali.
Diri was a week ago also honoured as the Governor of the Year by The Sun Newspapers.
Speaking at the event, Governor Diri dedicated the award to Bayelsa youths, particularly the sportsmen and women, for their hard work and commitment to bringing glory to the state.
He expressed joy that his administration’s modest investment in sports was yielding good dividends, noting that the award was an encouragement to do more.
Diri said the philosophy of his administration is to ensure that Bayelsa always wins by fair means.
His words: “Last weekend, also in Lagos, when I received The Sun Newspapers 2022 Governor of the Year Award, I dedicated it to people of the state for their resilience in the face of last year’s monster flooding in our state.
“Today, let me specifically acknowledge the hard work, dedication and commitment of the Bayelsa sports men and women.
“I recognise their efforts in ensuring that they bring glory to the state at every competition they participate in despite the challenges.
“I therefore dedicate this honour and recognition to all our sportsmen and women as well as youths of our state striving to give Bayelsa a good image. Our government will continue to encourage them by rewarding hard work and dedication.
“In furtherance of this, we plan to build standard facilities, including a world-class stadium, to ensure more of our youths engage in sports.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Sportsville, Mr. Frank Ilaboya, in his remarks, said the award was initiated to give a pat on the back to personalities that have done well for Nigerian sports.
“Sportsville award is different and special from others. The award was initiated to say thank you to those who have been in the forefront of sports development over the years,” Ilaboya said.
Other recipients include the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, wife of the Edo State Governor, Betsy Obaseki, former Director-General, National Sports Commission, Chief Patrick Ekeji, Col. Sam Amedu (rtd), General Overseer, Mountain of Fire Ministries, Dr. Daniel Olukoya as well as corporate organisations such as Zenith Bank and Supersports (Multichoice Nigeria) among others.