Skysports Newspaper, a renowned national sports publication, has named the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, as the 2020 Sports Governor of the Year for his administration’s repositioning of the sports sector in the state.
Chairman, Organising Committee/Managing Consultant, Skysports Media Award, Mr. Moses Ebahor, disclosed this at a news briefing, noting that the governor’s sports reforms were transformational.
In the past three years, the Governor Obaseki-led administration has initiated several reforms aimed at revolutionalising the state’s sports sector, including the rebranding of Bendel Insurance and Edo Queens Football Clubs; rebuilding of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium; building of 20-mini stadia to encourage grassroots sports, and the creation of the Edo State Sports Commission, among others.
Other awards bagged by the governor for his achievements in other sectors of the state include ‘2019 Best Performing Governor’ by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); 2019 Extraordinary Personality Award by Silverbird Group; Open Governance Champion Award by Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ); and the 2019 Governor of the Year by Daily Independent Newspaper, among others.
Ebahor said Governor Obaseki was considered for the Skysports Governor of the Year Award because of the total transformation of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in preparation for the National Sports Festival (NSF), which has now been postponed due to coronavirus scare.
“When you look at what other governors have done, you will agree with me that Obaseki is standing tall with the renovation of that massive infrastructure for use in Edo and the nation at large,” he noted.
He said that the award would be bestowed on the governor at the forthcoming Skysports re-launch in Benin City, adding, “The event will be one of the best in Nigeria as the award is to honour personalities in sports administration, including athletes, coaches and corporate organisations, who have contributed to sports development in the state and Nigeria at large.
Notable personalities to be honoured by Skysports include the Minister of Youth and Sport Development, Hon. Sunday Dare, as Sports Icon of the Year; Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, as the 2020 Best Deputy Governor on Sports, while the President of Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation, Senator Ned Nwoko, will bag the Sportsman of the Year Award.
