1st July, 2011
Rivers State Government says security in the ongoing Garden Games National Sports Festival will not be taken lightly.
To this end, the government will beef up security with at least 27,000 security personnel to record a successful and hitch free Games which is taking place in Port Harourt.
Deputy Governor, Tene Ikuru, told sports journalists that a total of 17,000 policemen as well as a combine team of Joint Task Force had been deployed to nooks and crannies of the state to maintain peace and sustain the security programmes.
Ikuru said the Games which would officially start tomorrow at the Liberation Stadium would be declared opened by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He assured that the state government has made provision to convey athletes, officials and interested members of the public to the event, which he said would be the best ever organised in the history of National Sports Festival.
According to him, the Liberation Stadium would seat 16,000 spectators, adding that all the games scheduled for Sunday would end early in the morning in order to encourage many people to witness the opening ceremony.
He assured that each state Director of Sports would be provided with cars to ease transportation problems and gadgets for effective communications during the Games.