Niger State Commissioner for Finance and a veteran player of badminton in the state, Hon. Lawal Adamu Maikano, has said that the first edition of the Governor Mohammed Umar Bago inter-local government badminton championship was a step towards reviving the game in the state.
Hon. Maikano, who made this revelation yesterday during an interview with sports journalists at the Minna Sports Club Complex, added that they wanted to make Niger State a hub of badminton players in Nigeria.
He observed that sports generally have gone down not only in Niger State but Nigeria as a whole, adding that the badminton championship was a step towards reviving and bringing back the lost glory of the game in the state.
The commissioner, who also featured Kontagora Local Government in the veterans category of the championship, said after the current tournament, they will go to the grassroots to organise something similar to catch them young from age five to 15.
He said that one of the directions of the present administration in the state, under the leadership of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, was to ensure that youths actively engaged in positive activities, sports included, explaining that the badminton championship was one of such directions.
He pointed out that the championship was made possible with some personal efforts from some of them, but most importantly, the government provided the enabling environment.
"We invited the governor here, and when he came around and saw some players, he said we needed to support these players to come to the limelight. This is the kind of leader we have currently," said the commissioner.
He assured that Governor Bago was willing to support people with talents for them to develop it to the best of their abilities, adding that such a championship will continue to be organised through individual efforts and government support.
The Commissioner also commended the leadership of the state badminton association, under the chairmanship of Hon. Mohammed Nma Kolo, for giving them the badminton court edifice, which was the first of its kind in the state.
So far, the Suleja local government has won both the male and female active player doubles categories of the championship.
Similarly, the finals of the single female category are between Angela Haruna and Dorcas David, all of Suleja, while the male single category final is between Aliyu Shehu of Suleja and Aliyu Saidu of Kontagora.