8th NYG: Imo pays contingent full allowance

Imo State Commissioner for Sports, Obinna Onyeocha, on Sunday hinted that the 300 athletes and close to 100 officials currently participating in the 8th National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State, have had their allowances “in their pockets” to boost their morale in winning more medals.

Onyeocha, who disclosed this to journalists covering the games at Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, said Governor Hope Uzodima had fully paid their allowances, along with other needed provisions, including the officials’ duty tour allowances.

“Imo State is still on top of the game. At the zonal elimination stage in South East in Enugu, Imo came on top to represent the zone. We will perform the same here to appreciate the governor’s gesture.

“So far, so good. We have won one gold medal, one silver, and about three bronze medals within this span of time. We are still going to get more, and at the end, Imo will go home with nothing less than 20 gold medals,” the Commissioner boasted.

He further said the state governor was expecting more champions to emerge from among the State, and nothing would stop the contingents from topping other States in the medal table at the end of the games.

Onyeocha, who noted that Imo’s contingent is among the highest participants in the tournament, revealed the governor’s plans to develop any of the athletes who excel.

He said, “We have our plans. The governor has mandated us to pick the champions for further development. That is one of the reasons we are here in Asaba for the National Youth Games.”

On the allegations that some key players were abandoned in Imo, the Commissioner said there was no iota of truth in the story because coming to Delta with these numbers of people “is enough for you to agree with me that