Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has announced a reward package
for athletes that represented the state at the twenty twenty-two National
Sports Festival held at Asaba, Delta State.
Bayelsa placed a historic second behind Delta, surpassing its earlier best
position of third recorded at the twenty- twenty festival hosted by Edo
State in twenty- twenty-one.
Governor Diri, who received the state’s contingent inside the Executive
Council Chambers of the Government House, Yenagoa, recalled that
Bayelsa won one hundred and nine gold, one hundred and four silver
and eighty-seven bronze medals.
The governor announced one million naira each to individual who won
gold medalists and seven hundred and fifty thousand naira each for team
gold.
He also rewarded individual with silver medalists with five hundred
thousand naira and three hundred thousand naira for team silver
medalists while individual with bronze medalists got three hundred
thousand naira and one hundred and fifty thousand naira for each team
bronze medalist.
Governor Diri also gave Coaches and secretaries of gold medal teams
five hundred thousand naira each while their assistants got three hundred
thousand naira each.
Those in silver category got three hundred thousand naira each and their
assistants two hundred thousand naira.
He also rewarded non-medalists with fifty thousand each.
He equally announced automatic employment for those yet to be
employed in the state sports council and directed the Ministry of Youth
and Sports to work out the modalities.
Earlier, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr.
Daniel Igali, said Bayelsa was the only state that rewarded its athletes
instantly at the games, which inspired them to exceed their target.
While thanking the governor for approving funds for the contingent, Mr.
Igali stated that the team broke six records in swimming in the men and
women categories as well as in weightlifting.
He stressed that as one of the premier sporting states in the country,
there was need to upgrade its sporting facilities in order to be able to
host the National Sports Festival in no distant time.
