Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Sunday said the 2017 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon would be used to boost the 50 years celebration of the state.
The governor said that everything would be put in place to have a successful marathon as a way of celebrating the state founded on May 27, 1967.
The marathon scheduled for February 11, will be the second edition of the 42.1km race. The first edition took place on February 6 this year.
“I want to tell you that the Lagos State Government is deeply committed with the 2017 edition of the marathon and that’s why I am handling it personally with the other sponsors,” the governor said.
“We want to use it as a platform to start the celebration of Lagos at 50 and to encourage the culture of sports across the city.
“I want to urge all our celebrities, entertainers and artists to join hand with us in making sure that whatever we are planning this time around, will not just be a one day event, but it is going to be a weekend of events that will now culminate into the race on Saturday.
“We also believe we can use the marathon for charity work and to help the less privileged in our society. It is also another way of giving back to the society.”
The governor added that they are using the race to also put the state on the world map of marathon state across the world.
Speaking on the race, the Group Managing Director, Access Bank, the major sponsor of the race, Herbert Wigwe, added that the race would also show the whole world that Lagos is safe for business transaction.
“Lagos represents the commercial centre of Nigeria and one of the primary reason to make this marathon work is to tell the whole world that Lagos is actually secured for anyone to come and transact their business,” he said.
