By Peter Okhiria

Our attention has been drawn to an article in the Sports Guard Column written by Mr Patrick Omorodion in Sunday Vanguard of November 20, at Page 55.

In the said article, while Mr Omorodion gave the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole a pass mark for his achievements in other sectors of the economy, he however attempted to disparage the achievements of the Governor in the area of Sports.

To Mr Omorodion, Governor Oshiomhole’s perceived ‘poor performance’ in Sports could be attributed to the alleged dismal performance of the Sports Commissioner, Ms Anita Evbuomwan, whom Omorodion called a ‘novice’.

While Mr Omorodion’s anger may stem from the fact that he is an Edo man who wants the best for the state which we are all proud of, he was however wrong in many of the things he alleged in his write-up.

Starting with the National Sports Festival, tagged “Garden City Games” held in Port Harcourt, Omorodion alleged that the State contingent to the Games was ferried to venues in rickety vehicles. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For the record, Edo State contingent to the National Sports Festival went to Port Harcourt in 18 Air-conditioned Luxury buses owned by the Edo City Transport Service and another 10 air-conditioned 15-Seater Toyota Hiace Buses.

Ten of the 18 luxury buses and all the ten 15-Seater Toyata Hiace buses were on standby in Port Harcourt and were used to ferry the athletes and officials to the games venues. One wonders where Patrick Omorodion got his information from.

Again, Omorodion alleged that the state contingent was poorly dressed. This is another fallacy as the state athletes and officials were properly dressed in the official red track suit with Edo State boldly emblazoned at the back and front of the Track suit with a white Tee-Shirt and Cap to match.

When Omorodion wrote that the Commissioner for Sports is a novice, I wonder what makes one an expert. Ms Evbuomwan has been the state Commissioner for Sports in the State for three years, and in three years, one is expected to have got the grasp of his field. To get a University degree takes four years; to get an Ordinary National Diploma of Higher National Diploma two years; a Masters’ Degree takes eighteen months, so how could someone who has been in a field administering it for three years be a novice? Maybe what he meant to say is that she has no background in Sports. But Mr. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal Coach is an economist. So what makes one a sports administrator, I wonder.

For Mr Omorodion’s information, a Commissioner is the interface between the Ministry and the Government, represented by the Governor. And in the case of the Sports Commissioner, she is the interface between her Ministry, the state athletes and the Government. The Ministry is actually run by an administrative head, otherwise known as the Permanent Secretary, and so many other Directors, Assistant Directors, et al who have served many Commissioners and will serve many more after Evbuomwan’s exit.

It rankles, no, it is simply an insult to say Evbuomwan was appointed because of a godfather, which godfather, what is his name? Comrade Adams Oshiomhole does not bow or subscribe to godfathers and that has launched an effective campaign against political godfathers in the state.

Patrick Omorodion mentioned the fact that Edo State came 3rd at the Port Harcourt Games. If he were in Port Harcourt, as I was, and as many other Sports reporters were, he would have known that many of the athletes that won medals for some of the states who came first and second bore Edo names. They were poached from our state because they were induced with mouth-watering monetary offers. The aim of the National Sports Festival is to discover new athletes for the nation and not to poach athletes from other states because of the “win-at-all-cost” attitude.

So When Edo State came 3rd out of the 36 states and the FCT, we were proud of it, even if Patrick Omorodion, our own Edo son was not, because we knew we genuinely won and would have come first if not for the underhand tactics of some states. Edo State under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole will not resort to underhand tactics to win the sports festival.

When Comrade Oshiomhole promised to return the state to its pride of place in sports, he meant it and has taken concrete steps in that direction.

Starting with the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, the Governor has completely refurbished the place, complete with a standard synthetic turf, such that the place now plays host to FIFA Grade A matches. What else can one say?

Under Comrade Oshiomhole, Edo State genuinely won the 2nd position at the KADA Games, the third position at the Garden City Games; First position at the National Weighlifting Youth and Senior Championship in Lagos; First Position at the U-16 Chess Tournament featuring 26 states; First position at the National Open Judo Championships; First position at the National Wrestling Trials in Ibadan and First position at the Darts Association 2011 Open Games in Kwara.

Besides this, the Governor has appointed Coach Shuaibu Amodu, former Coach of the Super Eagles as the Technical Adviser to the State on grassroots sports development. Already, about 200 academicals of the school are undergoing rigorous training in the school under the tutelage of Shuaibu Amodu.

When Patrick Omorodion wrote that months after the Garden City Games, the state athletes have not been given the largesse extended to them by government, he should know that this is not government nor the Commissioner’s fault. The athletes had demanded that the money promised them by the Presidency to be disbursed by the National Sports Commission, NSC for coming third, which amounts to N10 million be added to the state government’s largesse before being shared out. If the NSC is yet to redeem its pledge, whose fault is that?

While we admit that Patrick Omorodion as the Columnist and Head of Sunday Sports has the right to write whatever he wants in his column, he needs to cross-check his facts before feeding the unsuspecting public with innuendoes and half-truths.

Mr. Onochie Anibeze was right when he wrote that Comrade Oshiomhole stole the show during the match between the Super Eagles and Botswana as he was hailed incessantly by the fans because they (fans) know the state of sports in the state before Comrade Oshiomhole and its state today under Oshiomhole.

•Mr Okhiria is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole