National Sports Festival postponed again, shifted to January

THE sports ministry has confirmed that the National Sports Festival has been postponed again.

The festival had first been shifted indefinitely from its original March schedule due to the coronavirus outbreak.

It was then rescheduled for 3 December to 18 December by the sports minister.

However, there were rumours of its postponement earlier in the week amid claims that the ministry did not get the approval of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 before fixing the new dates.

The postponement reports have now been confirmed by the sports ministry.

In a press release signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Gabriel Aduda, new dates were announced for the festival billed for Benin City, Edo State. 

“The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has approved January 3-17, 2021 for the National Sports Festival, Edo 2020,” the ministry stated.

“The new date was arrived at during a virtual a meeting on Thursday, convened by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, which reviewed circumstances around the recent rescheduling of the sports fiesta.”

The new schedule will allow for proper protocols to be put in place to protect the athletes, according to the ministry.

“The new date is to allow the PTF, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Edo State Government and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to complete the necessary steps and processes, as assigned, to ensure a hitch free Festival and deployment of rapid diagnostic test kits for over 11,000 athletes,” the ministry added.

“The virtual meeting had in attendance the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Youth and Sports Development,   PTF National Coordinator – Dr. Sani Aliyu, PTF’s Deputy National Incident Manager/ Head of Operations – Dr Assad Hassan, Representatives of NCDC, amongst others.”