Knocks for A’Ibom Sports Ministry as Niger Delta Sports Festival ends in Uyo

The maiden edition of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, hosted by Akwa Ibom State, has officially ended.

The final medal tally is out:

The festival, which took place from April 1 to 8, 2025, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, featured over 3,000 athletes and 500 officials from nine states in the Niger Delta region, competing in 17 sports.

It was however marred by controversies.

Athletes from the host state complained of poor welfare throughout.

From lack of kits, to poor payment and poor feeding, Akwa Ibom athletes  protested poor treatment by the Sports Ministry.

Akwa Ibom State was officially disqualified from the wrestling event after its sole representative failed to have the required fighting shoes.

A frustrated insider lamented, “If this athlete had a certain ‘appealing’ physique, she would have gotten 50 pairs of shoes. But because she wasn’t ‘favored,’ she was left to suffer.”

Apart from the unfortunate athlete, others equally complained of inadequate kits, despite substantial funding sunk in by the NDDC.

Diaspora Digital Media had earlier reported that athletes camping at the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre in Ikot Ada Idem, Ibiono Ibom, staged a protest on Tuesday, blocking the facility’s entrance over what they described as “insulting” allowances.

Athletes who expected between ₦30,000 and ₦35,000 as pre-competition camping allowances were shocked to receive a paltry ₦3,000 each.

The protest disrupted activities at the camp, with athletes demanding immediate intervention from the state government.

The development is a huge indictment on the state ministry of sports headed by Elder Paul Bassey.

Efforts by Bassey to pacify the irate and frustrated Akwa Ibom athletes fell on deaf ears as the victims freely expressed disapproval over their poor treatment.

The NDDC had funded the budget submitted by the sports ministries in each of the nine Niger Delta States.

No state sports’ ministry complained inadequate funding from the NDDC.

In the final standings, the host state finished disappointingly in sixth position.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook