24th August, 2015
Taiwo Adelu
The maiden Kiddies Olympics scheduled for October this year has received a boost with the endorsement from the Lagos State Sports Commission.
Chairman of the Project Management Committee, PMT, of the competition, Mr. Nurudeen Aluko told reporters over the weekend that the competition, which will be held to encourage sports talent in primary schools pupils in Lagos State, has just received a major support from the Lagos State government.
According to him, a letter of endorsement signed by Wale Adelekan, on behalf of the Acting Director General of the Commission, was given to the organisers of the Kiddies Olympics with the mandate to go ahead with the event.
“The government stated in the letter that an approval has been granted to stage the tournament at no cost to the Lagos State Sports Commission because it is private sector driven project,” Aluko said.
“We were directed that the competition should meet the stated objectives, while the programme will be monitored by the School Sports Department of the Commission. We were also told to submit detailed report of the programme to the department. The Commission promised to give us facilities to be used for the event for free.
“The letter from Lagos gave us a major motivation to go ahead with our programme with the determination to organise a glamorous maiden Kiddies Olympics in Lagos from 24-31 October this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the major stakeholders in the organisation of the Kiddies Olympics, Sports Officers of State Universal Education Board, SUBEB, Lagos, have called on Corporate Nigeria to join hands with the organisers to give a befitting future to the pupils.
Sports Director of Lagos SUBEB, Prince Olu Akapo said that a successful Kiddies Olympics cannot be organised without the active support from corporate organisations in the country.
“We are calling on companies and spirited individuals in Nigeria to leverage on the mileage the Kiddies Olympics will give them by supporting the championship. This is a tournament meant for our kids and a support for this project is a support for the future of Nigeria.
“Apart from this, over 10,000 sports officers from National Association of SUBEB Sport Forum (NASSOF), Association of Lagos State Sport Officers, (ALSSO) and Game Teachers in both public and private schools in Lagos will be actively involved in the organisation of the competition, which we believe will be an added reach to corporate companies that partner with us. It will be a win-win situation for any support will get,” said Prince Akapo, who is also the National President of SUBEB Sport Directors in Nigeria.
Kiddies Olympics is put together by Klozit Limited in conjunction with Isaac Daniels with active collaboration with Lagos SUBEB Sport Officers. It will feature sports such as Football, Track and Fields, Scrabble, Table Tennis and Handball with no fewer than 2,000 schools in both public and private schools in Lagos State.