We’ll develop sports to reduce poverty in Kwara, says deputy governor

ILORIN, Nigeria – Kwara State Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, has assured residents of the state the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led administration will develop sports as a way of engaging the youth to take their minds away from hard drugs and other social vices.

Alabi said this had become necessary because apart from agriculture, sports is another sector that can engage the youth and boost the revenue base of the state as a result of its multiplier effect.

He stated this when Team Kwara paid him a courtesy visit in Ilorin, the state capital. The delegation was led by the Director of Spots in the state, Mr. Tunde Kazeem.

According to Alabi, who himself was a sportsman, having been a part of the state handball team who defeated the Lagos State handball team in the finals of the National Handball Competition in 1978, it was regrettable that past administrations in the state neglected sports to the detriment of the youth.

He particularly lamented the terrible state of the Ilorin Stadium, which he said was a reflection of the attitude of past administrations in the state to sports development.

Saying Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq also loves sports, the deputy governor added that “a think-tank set up by the administration has submitted its report, which will be looked into”.

He assured the delegation that, as it was done before, the government will go to the grassroots to identify talents who will be trained to lift up the state in the sports world.

Earlier in his address, Kazeem had told the deputy governor that since “sports is a potent factor that brings everybody together irrespective of religion or ethnicity, there is the need to revive sports in the state”.

He regretted that many sportsmen and women identified and trained by the state in the past had been lost to other states who poached them and paid them mouthwatering salaries.

While congratulating the governor and his deputy on their election victory, Kareem appealed to them to support Team Kwara to go to the rural areas and identify sport talents who will bring honours to the state. Alabi was later presented with some sports kits by Kazeem.