The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philiph Shauibu has expressed disappointment over the decision by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 to once again postpone the 2020 National Sports Festival.
It will be recalled that the festival was initially scheduled to hold in March 2020 in Benin City, but was postponed indefinitely for the first time due to the outbreak of COVID- 19 pandemic.
However, with the lifting of the ban on all contact sports in October, the National Council on Sports met in Asaba and recommended that the sports festival be held from December 5-18.
The Deputy Governor who doubles as the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, LOC, while speaking to journalists yesterday said “How can PTF who approved that we can now start contact sports, the same PTF approves opening of NYSC camps across the country.
“The same PTF approves that we can all go to churches and mosques. All the market places are open and you say we can’t hold the National Sports Festival.
“If they are not able to give us green light, it’s definitely going to be impossible to have it this year. I can tell you that because you will need the states to camp their athletes.” he said.
However, even as the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu was unavailable for comments, a top government official, who pleaded not to be named, told Daily Trust that the main reason for the postponement was that the Edo State government was not fully prepared to host the festival.
He said that the state government was not ready with even fifty per cent of requirements for hosting of the event.
According to him, the Minister of Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare and Dr. Aliyu held meetings on the matter but were yet to conclude before the December 5-18 date was announced.
“What I can tell you is that there will be over 12,000 participants and that is a massive number that would require massive testing and other safety provisions.
“The PTF is afraid that a lot still needs to be done and there was a kind of proposal for the event to hold in the third week of January 2021 so that the host state can have enough time to put things in order,” the official said.
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