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SPORTS MINISTER DENIES POSTPONING NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL; EVENTS MAY BE STAGGERED

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The office of the Nigeria’s sports minister has denied that the National Sports Festival scheduled to hold in Benin, Edo State, has been postponed indefinitely.

According to a statement by the minister, Sunday Dare, through his media office and signed by John Joshua Akanji, consultations are still ongoing between the Ministry, the Edo State Government, the PTF on Covid-19 , and the National Council on Sports to decide on a new date to host the Festival.

“Like we did by consulting with the PTF on Covid-19 when we lifted the ban on non – contact sports and later contact sports, discussions are ongoing to decide on a new date for the festival.

“The fake news that the festival has been postponed indefinitely must have emanated from a false source.”

The statement further added: “We are considering a staggered festival spanning several weeks and athletes batched, no fans and strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol.

“While we are committed to holding the festival, we do not want to endanger the lives of Athletes and officials.

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“Be rest assured that a decision would be taken in line with government’s guidelines in the best interest of the common good of our sports and the athletes.”

The National Sports Festival which was earlier scheduled to hold in March in Benin, Edo State was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic which also affected social, economic activities.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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