31st December, 2021
By Idowu Gabriel
Ekiti Government has fulfilled its promise to reward the medal-winning athletes at the National Sports Festival tagged “Edo 2020’’.
Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Micheal Awopetu, presented the cheques on Friday in Ado-Ekiti.
Ekiti contingents to the festival won two gold, three silver and eight bronze medals to finish 23rd on the table.
Awopetu said gold medalists received N300,000 each, silver medalists N250,000 each while bronze medalists received N200,000 each.
“Today, I congratulate some of you who have gone to the National Sports Festival and made Ekiti proud.
“Gov. Kayode Fayemi in his magnanimity and fulfilment of his promise has rewarded those that have done the state proud with cash prizes, this is to encourage those that will participate in future sporting programmes for the state,” Awopetu said.
The commissioner noted that the unwavering commitment of the governor made him to sign the state Sports Development Trust Fund.
He said that Fayemi believes that the trust fund would make more money available to the sports sector, which in turn will bring development to the state.
He, however, thanked the governor for his unflinching and continuous support toward developing and taking sports to the zenith.
Also, Bamidele Ajayi, an Ekiti-born athlete who won 4×400 Relay Mixed Gold at the World U-20 Athletics Championship, in Kenya, Nairobi, was rewarded with N300,000.
Ajayi, on behalf of other beneficiaries, thanked the state government for the gesture, saying the reward would spur them to do more.