FIC Report (Edo State) – Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has announced the State’s preparedness to host the next edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival scheduled for February 2026. The Governor made this known on Tuesday 2nd December,2025 when the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Benin City.
Governor Okpebholo, who warmly welcomed the proposal, said Edo State would deliver an exceptional and memorable sporting event. “You have chosen the right state,” he declared. “We are not just the Heartbeat of the Nation for nothing. We have the strength, we have the athletes, and we have what it takes to win every sporting activity.”
He also used the occasion to appeal for NDDC’s partnership in rehabilitating the Agbor–Uromi Road, describing it as “not motorable” and vital for both economic and social movement within the region.
Earlier, the NDDC Managing Director, Chief Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, congratulated Governor Okpebholo on his one year in office and commended the administration’s progress, especially in sports and infrastructural development. Ogbuku said the NDDC team was in Edo to formally request the State’s hosting of the Niger Delta Games, themed “Beyond Oil: Harnessing Talents.”
He revealed that the maiden edition of the festival, held earlier this year, featured more than 3,000 athletes from the nine Niger Delta states and was conceived to promote regional integration through sports.
Ogbuku stressed the importance of collaboration between state governments and the NDDC, noting that past tensions had slowed developmental efforts. “Your Excellency, NDDC is not a government. It is an interventionist agency. We must always work with state governors if we want to succeed,” he said. “One of the greatest problems we had in the past was opposition from state governments, but we are bridging that gap.”
He also enumerated ongoing and completed NDDC projects in Edo State, including erosion control works, ecological interventions, and internal roads at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and Edo State Polytechnic, Usen.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Amadin Desmond Enabulele, expressed appreciation to the Governor for his strong support and continuous investment in sports development.
With Edo’s robust sporting facilities and renewed cooperation between the NDDC and state governments, the February festival is expected to attract athletes from Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, and other Niger Delta states, further positioning Edo as a regional center for sports excellence.
Also present at the meeting were the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa; Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilo, Esq; Chief of Staff, Alhaji Gani Audu; and Chairman, House Committee on Sports, Hon. Okogbe Donald, among other government officials.
Signed:
Omoluogbe Ruth
FIC Benin city
02, December, 2025
