Sports
Total E&P Reiterates Commitment To Sports Dev
Oil exploration and pro
duction company in Nigeria Total E&P has reiterated its commitment to continue to positively affect the lives of people through its activities.
The commitment was reasserted during the 2014 Total Annual Charity Golf Tournament held at the Air Assault Golf Club, Port Harcourt at the weekend.
In a speech by the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Total Upstream Companies, Mrs. Elizabeth Proust and read by the Deputy Managing Director, Deepwaters, Mr. Charles Ngoka, the company which has its slogan as committed to Better energy”, said that it has over the years committed to promoting sports and healthy living in Nigeria.
According to Mrs Proust, Total contributes to golfing events and other sports in Nigeria especially in Rivers State every year. Particularly, the company sponsors competition in football, swimming and track & field events in its host communities and beyond.
She further stated that the golf tournament which is rotated among three of its operational locations, Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt was in its 19th edition and has been rechristened and refocused as a charity based event in 2011. “We have endeavoured to make sure that the less-privileged where the tournament is staged benefit from the event”, she said. Golfers are asked to donate freely and whatever is realised is added to a sum of two million naira donated by total and given to an identified Charity Home.
The compassion Home centre, Port Harcourt benefitted from the proceeds of the 2014 tournament, while St. Kizito’s Clinic and Ajofa Special Education Foundation for the Deaf in Lagos were the beneficiaries of the 2013 edition staged the Ikoyi Club 1938.
In the tournament proper, a Total Staff, Gerald Latchimy Parassouramin, playing off handicap 28 emerged the overall winner in the male category with a net score of 70. The tournament’s defending champion, Sam Nwankwo placed second with a net score of 72, while Mr. Alec Musa finished third with 75 net score.
Mrs. Susan Coltas won the ladies category with a net score of 68, beating Covant N and Mrs Ngozi Ngofa to second and third, respectively with net scores of 83 and 87.
Also in the gross (men) S. Justin scored 78 to emerge winner while N. John placed second with a score of 79, while in the ladies category, Ann Aden beat Mr. V. Pappe to the top prize.
Barrster IK Allagoa and Mrs. Coltas won the longest drive prizes for men and ladies categories, respectively. Past Captain of the Air Assault golf club, C. O. Okwute won the veterans category with a net score of 71.
Special guests that were given special recognition include Admiral Fingesi and King Alfred Diete-Spiff, Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass.
A raffle draw with different prizes was used to round off the impressive charity tournament.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.