Over 9,000 secondary schools from across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja will be battling for honours in the 19th Milo Secondary School Basketball championship.
Disclosing this on Tuesday at the company’s corporate headquarters, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Maurice Alarcon, said that the Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship has continued to grow bigger.
Alarcon noted that the number this year marked an increase from 8,349 schools that competed last year. He underlined the essence of the tournament as providing opportunities for the development of young Nigerians, and imbibing in them qualities that include perseverance through hardship, courage to overcome fear, ability to work as a team, self-belief, respect and leadership.
“At Nestle, we are committed to positively impacting on millions of children in Nigeria through sports, especially basketball.â€
In his address, the category Manager, beverages Nestle Nigeria Plc, Olufemi Akintola said with over 100,000 school children participating annually in the championship, it has grown to become an important component of our national youth development; positively engaging our youth and equipping them with important values and skills to succeed in life.
Akintola said that competition in the Central Conference holds at the Indoor Sports Hall Abuja National Stadium from April 27 to May 4.
Participating states include Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and FCT.
Lokoja will host the Confluence Conference which has Kogi, Plateau, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Katisna and Benue start from May 5 – 11.
Enugu hosts the Equatorial confluence from 12 – 18 May, with Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Ebonyi while Akure will host the Western Confluence 19 -25 May, 2017 with states from Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Edo, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun and Kwara.
