The 2017 edition of the Victor Ochei International Wheelchair Basketball Championship will hold from October 22-28, organisers of the event have said.
 For the past six years, the ex-Delta State Speaker has funded the championship, which has produced many stars for the country. He had also sponsored Nigerian Wheelchair Basketball teams to various international competitions, including the Rio 2016 Olympics Games qualifiers in Algeria, where the country fielded both male and female teams.
According to the president, Wheelchair Basketball Federation of Nigeria,(WBFN) Bukola Olopade, he said despite the dwindling economy situation in the country Ochei says he would continue to stick to his promise of using the wheelchair basketball to change the life of many physically challenged people in Nigeria and some African countries.
 Olopade, added that the 2017 edition, which is the sixth in the series, will witness the introduction of wheelchair basketball challenge. “The wheelchair basketball challenge is one of the several new things we are going to introduce in this year’s edition. It will carry its own prize money. We will hold a world press conference by the end of this month to officially announce the package,†Olopade stated.
He commended Ochei for his continuous pledge to empower special sports athletes in the country.
 Some of the players also praised Ochei for his continuous love for special athletes, especially when he is no longer in government. “It is not common in Nigeria for people to continue sponsorship of a sporting event when they are no more in government. But Ochei has stuck to wheelchair basketball, which is commendable,†one of the players said.
