• Opiah flags off competition

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, has said that sports will continue to form part of school curricula, as the government strives to reposition the education sector.

Speaking in Abuja during the pre-game press briefing ahead of the third yearly Federal Education Sector Games (FEDUGAM) to hold in Nasarawa State University, Keffi campus, Adejoh said that aside from the main objective of promoting and fostering unity, friendship and comradeship, the Ministry intends to use the games to create strong and healthy individuals with sharp brains in a conducive atmosphere. 

He said: “The basic things the games want to achieve is everything that sports does. We all know the genesis of sports, it started from the Roman Empire when people felt they were too tired and needed to express themselves and interact with one another. 

“The Ministry wants to achieve two things, first to make sure that the staff are healthy and second to create an atmosphere where they will interact and do sports together, as sports also help people to grow their intellectual ability.

“When you look at indoor games like chess and scrabble, scrabble helps you to increase your thinking ability to form words, while squash helps you to keep fit mentally and physically. So, the focus of the ministry is that we want to first create individuals that are strong, healthy and have sharp brains in an atmosphere of camaraderie.” 

He noted that participants at the Games were aware of the rules, which must produce winners, and losers, saying their actions would be anchored on the spirit of sportsmanship.

The competition was flagged off by Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah, after the ceremonial march past by the various teams. Opiah, who preached fairplay, urged the athletes to imbibe the spirit of friendship notwithstanding their agencies positions at the end of the competition. 

“The game is very important, this is an avenue to foster friendship. It is an opportunity for the Federal Ministry of Education to come together in line with the objectives of the game. Participation is more important than the win,” he said.

In line with the primary objectives of the tournament, Director, Human Resource Management and Chairman, FEDUGAM Steering Committee, Mr. David Gende, encouraged all the agencies to always participate in the Games given the prime place of the yearly tournament. 

“We urge all the agencies to team up. We are encouraging as many as possible to join. So we hope in the next edition we will have more of them participate, which is key to the game,” he said.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, consultant to the Games, Okeyinkan Matthew, called for wider collaborations, adding that sports globally develop when there are better synergies between private and public entities.

“We are trying to do our best to seek essential support and partnership with different people. The issue of sponsorship or partisanship is a symbolic relationship. No organisation is a Father Christmas; you have to enter into partnership. It is a give and take thing,” he said.

The three-day competition is featuring over 500 sportsmen and women competing in football, scrabble, ayoo, draught, badminton, basketball, table tennis, volleyball, handball and table tennis.