As part of effort to resuscitate sports activities and to bring schools back to life, the Executive Chairman of Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Professor Shehu Raheem Adaramaja has reaffirmed his undiluted support for all sports activities across the state.
The Executive Chairman has pledged to earmark N500, 000 out of SUBEB running cost to finance the Governor’s Cup football competition and any other sport activities to be organised by the LGEA Sports Coordinators.
He also pledged to buy trophies and two sets of Jerseys to be used in finals from his own pocket.
Professor Adaramaja made this known while receiving the 16 SUBEB LGEA Sport Coordinators who paid him a courtesy visit in his office yesterday.
Adaramaja, whom before his appointment as the Chairman of SUBEB was a Professor of Health Education with Specialisation in Primary Health Care, Community Health and Wellness said sport is life, adding that he was a Games Master in various schools as a teacher.
He explained that during his time as a teacher and as a Games Master, they took sports in high esteem, moving from one Local Government Area to another, playing football and going for competition but all of a sudden the whole sports activities just went off without anyone knowing the reason.
He stressed that his appointment as the Chairman of SUBEB is to champion all round development of man, not only academics but all other aspects including sports.
He further stressed that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRahsaq is a sports lover and he has been looking for a way of bringing back sports activities to schools as a means of bringing schools back to life.
Professor Adaramaja, appreciated the LGEA Sport Coordinators for finding time to come and discuss sports with him, as he urged them to use the money judiciously.
Earlier, the spokesman of the team and the Sports Coordinator for Ilorin West LGEA, Alhaji Muhammed Usman congratulated the Chairman for his appointment, adding that his appointment is timely especially when the whole Kwarans and youths are looking forward for somebody like him to bring back the lost glory of KWSUBEB.
Alhaji Usman noted that they have made Kwara state proud in terms of sports, and they still remain on their feet. He added that there was never a time that Kwara will go out for a competition without emerging first.
He emphasized that Team Kwara (KWSUBEB) is the defending champion of Channels Kiidies football competition for primary schools in Nigeria. He further emphasized that they have won Channels Kiddies competition four times and won back to back twice in years 2016 to 2019 before Covid-19 disrupted the 2020 edition of the championship.
He commended the Executive Chairman for the initiative he has brought to SUBEB within the short period he has spent as the Chairman.
He however, appealed to the Chairman to justify the confidence reposed on him by the Governor by finding a lasting solution to the challenges facing the sporting body. The challenges includes training and retraining of personnel, lack of staff, shortage of mobility, among others.
