Lead Consultant at Dunamis-Icon Limited, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, has described sports as vital to national development.
Sir Ikpokpo made the declaration when he briefed the media at the ongoing 2nd Niger Delta Games in Benin City, the Edo State Capital on the progress recorded so far at the games which will come to close on Thursday 26th February 2026 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
According to him without proper investment in sports in the areas of facilities and athlete funding Nigerian sports will continue to struggle.
“We need to stop taking sports like less important. We need to invest and it needs to be taken very seriously because it’s vital for national development,” he said.
On the ongoing Niger Delta Games, though he admitted to very few lapses, he was impressed with the progress achieved compared to the first edition in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
“Don’t forget, the Niger Delta Games are sponsored by NDDC, it’s on the World Athletics Calendar. So, it’s a very critical part of what we do internationally. And so,
“What we are doing is to, as much as possible, ensure that from officiating to everything we do meet international standards.
“So, we just keep getting better. And you know that we cannot be a judge in our own matter. It is from what people see, and then we explain if there are areas that need clarification.
“But I think that from the first experience to now, we’ll keep getting better,” he stressed.
He revealed plans of the organisers and franchise owners Dunamis-Icon Limited to accommodate more sports at next edition.
Presently 16 sports are featuring at the games in Edo State.
“Our plan is to give opportunity to athletes of all sports to be part of the Games. You’ll notice that this year, we removed canoeing because the equipments are not in any of the participating states but in Lagos and Abuja. We then brought in Taekwondo , So we’ll definitely consider increasing the number of sports but we will also consider how popular that sports is in the Niger Delta region.
On a lasting legacies he hopes to put in place, he said: ” The idea of the Niger Delta Games is not to win at all cost but to discover hidden talents in the region. We also want to leave a lasting legacy that things can be done right and athletes welfare not to be toiled with.
” It was in view of this that we’ re using Benson Idahosa University as our Games village. The beauty of this decision is that all the athletes and coaches are camped in one place which brings about bounding together”, he noted
He also spoke about the importance of going back to school sports and charged the various state governments to provide adequate funding for coaches to enable them engage in serious grassroots talent hunt.
Ikpokpo while expressing happiness with the seamless organisation of the Games advised participating states to monitor the development of athletes discovered in their states to enable them rise to the pinnacle of their career.
” You will all agree with me that the Games is going on smoothly without any hitch. The screening committee did a good job and the rules are being applied without and bias and that’s the only way to grow our sports.
Justifying why the age limit was reduced from U-25 allowed last year to U-20, he explained that it has given room for a number of young athletes to be discovered just as he reminded Nigerians that some of the athletes that took part in the maiden edition of the Games participated at last year’s National Sports Festival where they won medals.
” The decision to reduce the participating age is already yielding result. One of the girls that won gold medal this year is 13 years old. She participated last year and came last but participating with her peers, she now won gold which is a good development for the Games.
