Chairman, Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2008 Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) to be hosted by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Bath Okolo has frowned at an attempt by the organizers of the 16th National Sports Festival, tagged KAD’08 to rubbish their effort at hosting the best ever university games.
Shocked by the decision of the states directors of sports including Abuja who met in Kaduna on Monday to move the games to February 13 – 23, 2009 which clashed with the new date of February 23 – March 08, 2008 early chosen for the university games, embittered Okolo questioned the sensitivity of the organizers of the nation’s version of Olympics in continuously encroaching into any date NUGA sets out for its event.
“Although fund has been our biggest headache towards completion of main facilities earmarked for the biennial games, however the continuous shifting of the festival date which encroaches on our own date has not helped matters at all.
“Everybody knows that both events cannot hold simultaneously, that is why we have been careful in the choice of date for NUGA, but KAD’08 organizers have not reciprocated that kind gesture.
“How could the states directors of sports, aware of our new date for NUGA, sat in Kaduna on Monday and decided to fixed the festival date almost the same time with our own, do they want to ruin our efforts”?
The university don who said the new date was allow them time complete ongoing projects, however reinstated the resolved of the institution toward giving the university community the best games.
“The shift in date is to give us more time to complete designated projects as well as ensure that UNN deliver the best games ever. The new date will be strictly adhered to,” he said.
Nsukka appears to have followed the footsteps of the immediate past host, University of Maiduguri, who fail to adhere to the biennial structure of the 42-year old games first held at the nation’s premier university, University of Ibadan.
It would be recalled that on Monday, the states directors of sports who met in Kaduna, decided to move festival forward from its November 2008 date to February 2009 citing non-completion of main facilities as reason, among other things. - Humphrey Njoku, Vandykesport