ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government says it is committed to reposition its Sports Academy at Asoama in the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state to a centre of academic excellence and sports development.
Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the assurance when the Chairman and members of the Governing Board of the Academy paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa, a statement by his media aide, Mr Doubara Atasi, said on Monday.
The Deputy Governor said the government had a clear idea of what to do about the sports academy to enable the institution to achieve its set goals.
Ewhrudjakpo, who urged the board, staff and students to keep hope alive, blamed the current state of affairs in the Academy on paucity of funds in the face of other pressing needs and state obligations.
He maintained that the Douye Diri administration was prepared to work with the board chairman and its members to improve the academy and make it a reference point in sports and academics in the West African subregion.
Ewhrudjakpo commended the current board for their zeal, commitment and efforts at moving the academy forward in the midst of challenges, which he described as surmountable in the near future.
He, therefore, directed the Chairman to make necessary proposals to the government in respect of the institution’s needs in the areas of infrastructure, academic curriculum development and legal reforms.
Earlier, the Chairman of the board of the Sports Academy, Elder Jackson Bidei, remarked that the board under him had carried out a comprehensive feasibility assessment and now in good stead to implement the blueprint of the Academy.
Bidei, however, called on the government to prioritize the development of the Academy by urgently tackling some of its basic needs, such as provision of critical training facilities and more manpower to reduce the burden of the existing few staff.
He also stressed the need for improved curriculum, monthly subvention and a clear delineation of supervisory and oversight functions between the Ministry of Sports and that of education over the Sports Academy to avoid confusion.
