Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, has challenged multinational oil companies operating in the region to champion grassroots sports development as part of their corporate social responsibilities.

He gave the task on Sunday while speaking at the grand finale of the 2018 Governor Seriake Dickson Football Tournament at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa where Peretorugbene Football Club beat Opu-Nembe 2-1 to emerge as the winner.

The Governor, who decried the non-committal posture of the oil companies, noted that sports play a key role in promoting peace, unity and stability for sustainable socio-economic development to thrive in any society.

While thanking the sponsors of this year’s edition, Dickson urged the oil majors and other corporate organisations to improve on their community relations efforts by partnering the state government in the promotion of sports and other social activities.

He expressed satisfaction with the quality of performance and assured youth of the state of his administration’s preparedness to provide more opportunities for them to develop their innate potentialities with a view to making the state proud.

Dickson, therefore, directed the Sports Development Commissioner, Perekiye Buruboyefe, to develop a league involving all the local government areas in the state, which will kick off by July this year.

While commending all the participating team and the organisers for their show maturity and orderliness, the governor charged youths to shun cultism and other societal vices but channel their productive energies to useful ventures.

In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Sports Development, Buruboyefe, lauded the Dickson-led Administration for the revolutionary steps taken to promote sporting activities, insisting that the state has not had it so good in football development.

Buruboyefe said efforts were underway to organize beach soccer and volleyball competitions involving the various local government areas that would soon commence in the state.

According to him, the state government was preparing athletes to participate in the forthcoming competition organised by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in Abuja.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Restoration Cup, Onoriode Kelvin Akpe, explained that the rationale behind the competition is to harness the sporting potentials in the youths of the state and dissuade them from cultism, violence and other social vices.

Akpe noted that over 150 teams took part in this year's edition of the community-based competition in which not less than 30 talented players have already been pencilled down for honing at the state-owned sports Academy, Asoama and Samson Siasia Academy, Abuja.

Overall winner of the competition, Peretorugbene FC, Ekeremor Local Government Area, aside the trophy coasted home with five million Naira, First Runner-Up, Opu-Nembe FC (three million naira) while second Runner-Up, Toru-Orua won two million naira.

Other highlights of the event, include the presentation of the award of meritorious service and tremendous contributions to sports development in Nigeria to former Super Eagles Coaches, Monday Sinclair and Mr Samson Siasia by Governor Dickson.

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