The Acting Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has said reiterated
sponsorship support for the just concluded Tennis Tournament, reports ITRealms.
.
Danbatta in a press statement made available to ITRealms by
the Head, Media at NCC, Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore, the EVC was quoted as
declaring the Commission “will continue to sponsor this tournament.”
Speaking at the National Stadium, Abuja, venue of the second
Semi- final of the Tennis National Tournament at the weekend, he said, NCC would
also review the prize money upward to ensure that as many teams are attracted
from different parts of the country.
A visibly excited Danbatta who went down memory lane said, he
remembered with nostalgia the escapades of Nigeria’s Nduka Odizor who reached
the round of 16 in the Wimbledon of 1983.
To Danbatta, Odizor was easily one of the global Tennis
greats at the time but sadly “Nigerian players have not made the desired impact
in global Tennis circuits since then.”
He noted that Nigerians nowadays witness how tennis stars
have brought fame and fortune to themselves and their nations, hence NCC wanted
to be identified with by taking these talented players in Nigeria to the circuit.
He told the audience at the stadium including, President,
Nigeria Tennis Federation, Mr. Sani Ndanusa, President, International Tennis
Academy, Mr. Godwin Kienka among others that the main objective of the NCC
sponsorship of the tournament is to raise the level of Lawn Tennis which is one
of the most popular and lucrative sporting activity.
“Part of our objective is to help in nurturing and exposing
these talents through robust competition so as to help them perfect their
skills. It is also promoting peace and friendship among the players as this has
taken the game to various locations of the country where such competitions have
not been held. So far, several matches have been played in Lagos, Port Harcourt,
Asaba, Onitsha, Abeokuta, Kaduna, Abuja, and Enugu, with the finals scheduled
for Lagos. Another objective of this tournament is so fruitfully engage the
players, officials and the youth in some value-driven activities associated
with this competition.”
Danbatta said the NCC is glad that most of the objectives of
this project have been realized.
“We understand that most of the best Nigerian
players are featuring in this year’s edition, which has made the quality of the
competition to be very high. The cross section of the people that matter in
Nigerian Lawn Tennis sport have honoured us with their presence in some of the
tournaments, including Nduka Odizor that I spoke about. We are happy the way
the tournament has been organized as shown by the huge turnout at this second
semifinal.”
“This is the maiden edition of this tournament, and we are
very happy the way the Commission’s gesture has been received since this league
tennis was launched on May 23, 2015. We are proud to have added a new version
of competition that has energized activities in the Nigerian lawn tennis
calendar.
The first Semi-final held in Enugu last week and the winners
of the Enugu Semi- final and the Abuja Semi-final will meet at the final in
Lagos on December 4 and 5, 2015.
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