Over 7,000 students, officials for 2022 NUGA games

NO fewer than 7,000 student-athletes and officials have converged on Lagos for the ongoing 26th edition of the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) events holding at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka.

The participants from over 76 universities nationwide are featuring in a total of 21 sporting events.

The competition, which commenced since Saturday had the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Youth and Sport Development, Sunday Dare; deputy governor of Ogun State, Mrs Nimot Salako; chairman,  governing council, UNILAG, Dr Lanre Tejuosho; and Pastor Tunde Bakare, gracing its opening ceremony, where participating schools engaged in a march-past. were

In his remark, Gbajabiamila said NUGA games were a potent instrument that unified the Nigerian youths as participants cut across ethnic and religion backgrounds

Also speaking, the sports minister, Sunday Dare, re-echoed the essence of the sports competition, saying it is truly to identify talents and to also bring the undergraduates together in love and unity and that the event over the years had been meeting its intended purposes.

In his welcome address, the  vice chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said NUGA games had been a veritable source to producing a new galaxy of stars that would add to the national teams in various sports which would bring glory to the country and themselves in no distant future.

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He said UNILAG would be hosting the games for the fourth time in the 56-year- history of the games, first in 1958, second and third in 1978 and 1998 and now – the ongoing edition.

He said the university had prepared very well including for the safety of all the athletes, officials and other visitors to make the event worthwhile, urging all participants to conduct themselves according to the rules of the event including following the COVID-19 protocols.

He noted that the prayer of UNILAG is that the event would be a game-changer in the nation’s university games system.

He said new dimensions such as rewarding the best-behaved university; best athlete and particularly  in the female category as well as trophy for the best institution had been introduced to this year’s edition so as to make it unique.

In his own address, NUGA president, Professor Stephen Sanaah, said the competition was designed for participants from both the government and privately-owned universities to exhibit their sporting talents with a view to developing them for commercial purposes.

He thanked all the sponsors and supporters of the event from both the public and private sectors, saying their contributions are well-acknowledged.