NIGER DELTA GAMES: ANOTHER GOLD MEDAL FOR GOVERNOR UMO ENO’S SPORTS RENAISSANCE

NIGER DELTA GAMES: ANOTHER GOLD MEDAL FOR GOVERNOR UMO ENO’S SPORTS RENAISSANCE

Amos Etuk

The second edition of the Niger Delta Games took place from February 20-27, 2026 in the ancient city of Benin, Edo State.

It was the second edition of the Games following the maiden edition which took place last year in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and featured nine States with 2,430 athletes.

Team Akwa Ibom featured 270 athletes, 46 Officials, 12 backroom Staff and participated in 16 sports.

In the maiden edition, Team Akwa Ibom placed Sixth and made a big leap this year placing fourth clearly an indication of the steady growth of sports development in Akwa Ibom State since Governor Umo Eno came into Office and his bold imprints in the sports sector that is beginning to harvest a haul of medals to the State.

At the just concluded Games, Team Akwa Ibom amassed 55 medals including 16 Gold, 17 Silver and 22 Bronze medals a huge leap from the 37 medals won at the inaugural edition.

In two years and ten months, sports under the ARISE Agenda of Governor Umo Eno has continued to witness new frontiers of successes. Every outlined programme in this sector has received tremendous moments of glory from the return of the Governor’s Cup after more than a decade, the hosting of the MTN Championship for athletes in the country, the South South elimination series for the National Sports Festival and the main Games and the Akwa Ibom State Sports Festival.

The hosting of the Super Eagles for the Nations and World Cup qualifiers, hosting of Confederation of Africa Champions League Games and the National Judiciary Games are milestones that have today made Akwa Ibom State a destination in sports tourism.

Governor Umo Eno’s determination and commitment in putting sports in Akwa Ibom State on the global reference of excellence is evident with the provision of new and modern equipment for all Associations in the State through the Ministry of Sports, the construction and completion of a Gymnasium, the first of its kind in the State for athletes and coaches to achieve maximum fitness at all phases of competitions, the construction of an all encompassing ARISE Sports Academy in Eket Local Government Area and the enhanced welfare that has motivated Team Akwa Ibom to be the best.

The second edition of the Niger Delta Games provided a litmus test and bigger platform in the last one year to showcase the strength of resilience and character of our athletes as our medal haul was dominant in athletics, boxing, weightlifting, Taekwondo, Tennis, Para – Powerlifting, Traditional Wrestling, Table Tennis, Scrabble and Swimming which recorded a historic Bronze.

Swimming has the largest medal haul at any Games from the National Sports Festival, All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics and at the Niger Delta Games, the sport alone provided for 130 medals with more than 45 of them Gold medals and a lot of emphasis should be put in developing our interest and growth in this area

This is just the beginning. It is a testimonial that the sports sector in Akwa Ibom State is receiving adequate attention and the performance of athletes in the State has significantly improved as they shift focus to more competitive events including the Second edition of the Akwa Ibom Sports Festival coming up later in the year, the National Youth Games and the National Sports Festival.

The outstanding strides of Team Akwa Ibom athletes will surely attract national invitations to feature in the Commonwealth Games and other renowned events globally.

The Commissioner for Sports , Elder Paul Bassey in just one year in Office has successfully laid a new foundation for sports development in Akwa Ibom State with the templates of the ARISE Agenda.

His professional and patriotic leadership has changed the approach in sports administration. All through the Games in Benin, Edo State he was on ground at each venue alongside his Permanent Secretary in the Ministry,Mrs Rosemary Ubia motivating the athletes and ensuring that their welfare was paramount which inspired the team to achieve this leap .

Sports will continue to be one of the strongest platforms in giving our youths the best opportunities to excel, the best experience to mould raw talents, the best moments to put Akwa Ibom State on the podium of Champions and Governor Umo Eno is redefining this renaissance bringing back the glory days and making future stars.

Indeed,Akwa Ibom is Rising.