Obi during one of his efforts on sports development.
By Valentine Obienyem
For two days, I have followed the debate about what Mr. Peter Obi did or did not do for sports while he was the Governor of Anambra State.
As repeatedly said, Mr. Obi tailored his governance after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), for which the Anambra State Development Strategy was crafted, enabling him to develop all sectors simultaneously.
In the area of sports, he also made significant contributions. When Obi became governor, sporting facilities in the state were in disrepair.
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Some of the highlights are:
1. He demolished the Onitsha North Secretariat, which was built on stadium grounds, and constructed a new stadium there, naming it after Justice Chuba Ikpeazu, the first sports proprietor of a football club in Nigeria.
2. He replicated the same effort in Onitsha South by relocating the Local Government Secretariat and building a new stadium, which he named after the longest-serving Nigeria’s national football team captain, Godwin Achebe.
3. Under Obi, Anambra State resumed full school sporting activities. He gave N500,000 to N1 million each to all the schools in the state to develop their sports programmes.
4. He gave N30 million to the proprietor of Ikpeazu Redoubtable to develop their stadium.
5. He visited abandoned sports facilities in different parts of the state. After his visit to Rojenny Sports Complex in Oba, he initiated and supported its rebuilding with about N100 million, allowing it to start hosting sports competitions again.
6. He gave appointments to some qualified former Super Eagles (Old Rangers) players like Godwin Achebe, Emmanuel Okala, Christian Chukwu, and Sylvanus Okpala, among others.
7. He donated a bus to Old Rangers.
8. He started paying stipends to Old Rangers as a way of encouraging greater output among active players.
9. He initiated the development of Awka Township Stadium and set money aside for its completion.
10. He built pavilions at Ekwueme Square, the largest arena where Anambra people gather for sports on weekends.
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