By David Owei,Bayelsa

Ministry of Sports Development, Staff of the Bayelsa State Sports Council, and friends of Sir Braveman Wodi have converged on the Multipurpose Sports Hall of the Samson Siasia Stadium to celebrate the Director of Sports, Bayelsa Sports Council on his retirement and birthday.

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‎Sir Braveman Wodi bowed out of service after 35 years of meritorious service, including numerous leadership roles and tremendous achievements as Director of Sports in the last five years.
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‎Commissioner for Sports Development, Dr. Daniel Igali in a remark, eulogized Sir Wodi as a man of integrity who placed premium attention on results rather than monetary gains and, stated that attendance of the retirement ceremony was a testament of a man who is loved by many.
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‎He noted that he has enjoyed a smooth working relationship with Sir Braveman Wodi since he assumed office as a commissioner, pointing out that he will miss his service and that the retired director made his job as commissioner easy, describing him as a meticulous man.
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‎According to him, Sir Wodi is the most committed person he has ever worked with and that he always provides solution to every situation, urging others to emulate his exemplary footprints of being result-oriented.
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‎He hinted that he would still be working with him even after his retirement and that the governor, Senator Douye Diri is pleased with Sir Wodi’s dedication and commitment to work, maintaining that the celebrant is one of the most trustworthy persons he has come across.
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‎Also, an elated wife of the celebrant, Mrs. Irene Wodi in her remark, thanked the Almighty God for the life of her husband, stressing that she is happy that he would be seeing more of her husband now that he has retired from service.
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‎A visibly satisfied Sir Braveman Wodi in an interview, thanked the entire staff of the Sports Council for the show of love towards him, adding that he never expected a colourful ceremony of that magnitude.
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‎He remarked that he would be leaving with a high sense of nostalgia having served meritoriously as Director of Sports, maintaining that it was not easy for him to combine work and family in the last few years, and that he would always remain grateful to God.
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‎In separate goodwill messages from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports Development, Mrs Grace Alagoa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Chief Patimidi Tukuru, Head of Department Organizing, Mr. Andrew Aye, Technical Adviser to the Governor on Sports, Mr. Alaowei Opukume and Chairman Coaches Association, Mr. Doubara Otuku, described Sir Braveman Wodi as a thoroughbred administrator.
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‎The highpoint of the event was presentation of gifts to the celebrant as well as recitation of a poem by Diepreye Wodi, the son of the Director of Sports.

By David Owei, Bayelsa

Bayelsa State, Nigeria – The South-South representative on the board of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Mr. Ama-Ebi EbiEkpolade Stow, has pledged his full support for the forthcoming anniversary celebration in honour of Chief (Ambassador) Ogunu Miebi Samson, a respected figure in grassroots sports development.

The anniversary planning committee, led by Chairman Hon. Uroh Kiani Esq., paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Stow at his Oxbow Lake office to seek collaboration and partnership for the upcoming event.

In his remarks, Mr. Stow lauded Chief Ogunu’s decades of service in nurturing sports talents, particularly at the grassroots level. He noted that such dedication is a rare quality, especially in an era where selfless service often goes unnoticed.
“Having come from the private sector myself, I understand the sacrifices required to contribute meaningfully to the growth of our state and nation. Chief Ogunu’s contributions reflect true passion and patriotism,” Stow said.

Mr. Stow urged government bodies and International Oil Companies (IOCs) to leverage the expertise and unwavering commitment of individuals like Chief Ogunu to promote national sporting interests.
According to him, passion-driven service is a vital resource in building Nigeria’s sports sector and empowering young athletes.

Demonstrating his personal commitment, Mr. Stow pledged to bankroll the budget for the tennis of the anniversary celebration, in addition to providing branded T-shirts and bottled water for the event. He called on other well-meaning Bayelsans to join hands in making the anniversary a resounding success.

By David Owei,Bayelsa

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Wednesday, received an Award of Excellence from the United Nations Children Educational Fund (UNICEF) in acknowledgement of the state’s prompt response to its counterpart funding obligations in the health sector.

Governor Diri was also presented the Miss Nigeria Football Award by organisers of the Nigeria Soccer Ambasdador Awards during the 168th State Executive Council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, who presented the UNICEF award to the governor, said it was based on his administration’s commitment to healthcare delivery.

Prof. Brisibe explained that in 2022, the state had a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNICEF and Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (GAVI), which sought to improve service delivery at the primary health centres.

The agreement was also to enhance immunisation coverage, acceptance of primary healthcare services in the rural communities, bridge the human resources gap for health at the primary care level as well as strengthen the logistics and movement of medical supplies.

The Health Commissioner said: “Your Excellency provided support and met the state government’s obligation by promptly providing counterpart funding. It is for this exceptional leadership, commitment and collaboration that UNICEF presented this award to you.

“The MOU has yielded clear deliverables at its closeout in April this year. These include the engagement of 1000 staff for primary healthcare, upgrade of over 30 health facilities at primary level from tier 1 to tier 2, a reduction to zero cases from 62,000 to 27,000, the supply of ambulances and several health commodities at the primary healthcare level.”

Presenting the second award, the Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Daniel Igali, who represented the governor at the ceremony in Abuja, commended Senator Diri for his administration’s dedication to sports development.

Igali stated that the award was as a result of the outstanding performance of Bayelsa Queens in the Nigeria Women Professional League (NWPL).

He said: “A few weeks ago, organisers of the Nigeria Soccer Ambassador Award found you worthy to be honoured with the Miss Nigeria Football Award.

“This was based on the strength that our state football club, Bayelsa Queens, under your leadership, is the only team in the last four years that has emerged Nigeria Women Professional League champions twice.”

Responding, Senator Diri applauded both commissioners for implementing his Prosperity Administration’s policies and promoting the image of Bayelsa in a positive light.

“You are my foot soldiers and the vision has been implemented so well. That is why we keep having one award after the other.

“We will continue to invest in very critical areas of human capacity building, particularly in our youths via sports development, and also in the health of our people. There is no investment that is too much in these areas and several others.

“These awards attract positive image to our state. Bayelsans are hardworking people.

“Our government will continue to solicit the support of our people so that Bayelsa can be a better place by the time we leave office. Let us create a state that can be competitive with any other in the comity of states. Let us build a state we can be proud to hand over to our children, one that would be peaceful at all times so that others would travel here for tourism and eke out a living. That is the kind of state we are building and we must continue to be patriotic about our state.”