Team Cross River deserve some roses – Ugbe

By JACOB AJOM

The Cross River State Commissioner for Sports, Patrick Ugbe has commended Team Cross River to the just-concluded 18th National Sports Festival for their ”historic performance.”

In a chat with Sunday Vanguard Sports, the Commissioner who was leader of delegation to Eko 2012 said, “Team Cross River finished 8th with 12 gold, 14 silver and 23 bronze medals, the best outing in the history of the National Sports Festival. The team deserve some roses.”

He posited that the performance of the team was a pointer to what Cross River State would put up when they host the festival in 2014.

“I am very happy over the performance of Team Cross River. We did very well and it shows that we are in the right direction in our developmental efforts,” Ugbe said. “It was not possible to bring all our promising athletes because of their ages. In 2014 they would have become of age to compete and we will improve on our Eko 2012 performance.”

Looking ahead, the commissioner hinted that the 2014 Festival would be something different. “Paradise Games would be something different from all the previous games you have been seeing. We will offer Nigerians something refreshing and will put our famed hospitality to the fore”.

After acknowledging the spectacular show put together by the Local Organising Committee of Eko 2012 in the opening ceremony, Ugbe boasted, “Culturally, I don’t think there is any state that is richer than Cross River and, with tourism as our focal point, we will offer Nigerians the best they can ever get from anywhere else.”