Femi Solaja
In what many see as a major step towards sports development from the grassroots, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, fulfilled part of his promise to youth engagement following the donation of sporting equipment to all the six Educational District in the state yesterday.
At a colourful ceremony held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, the governor through the Lagos State Government Trust Fund (LSSTF), said all the equipment must be channelled to all the public institutions within the education districts in the state.
He said that the donation of the equipment was a demonstration of their understanding of the benefits of sports in education.
The governor who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Gboyega Soyannwo, said that the LSSTF has been playing a crucial role in assisting the government to source the fund from private sectors to improve sports infrastructure in the state.
“Lagos State Government is fully committed to improving sporting facilities in our schools to take full advantage of the benefits of enhanced sporting activities in our public schools that cannot be overemphasized. We most certainly cannot do this alone, hence we are always ready to join hands with the private sector and notable individuals to constantly and sustainably raise funds for the promotion of sporting activities and the development of sporting facilities in Lagos State,” the governor said.
He added: “The distribution of sports equipment to the public secondary schools via the six educational districts in Lagos State today is a testament to the great work being done by the LSSTF.”
Besides these equipment being distributed, LSSTF is currently reconstructing an Olympic size swimming pool, warm-up pool, training pool and a 500-seater spectator stand at Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba. These projects will soon be delivered and it is expected that the number of medals in swimming for the state will triple in future swimming competitive events,” Sanwo-Olu added.
In his remarks, the Chairman of LSSTF, Femi Pedro said that the agency is targeting N10b to support Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) to fund sports activities and infrastructure, while calling on corporate bodies to partner with the agency in improving the fortunes of school sports in Lagos.
The former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, however, said: “It is against this background that the LSSTF is creating and uniting opportunities capable of diverting the attention of the youths from crimes by focusing on the development of school sports.
