By Joseph Isokpehi
The Chairman of the Delta State Athletics Association, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, has congratulated Gabriel Okon, who emerged winner of the South South Zonal election into the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria held in Benin city on Monday.
In a statement issued in Asaba on Tuesday, Ikpokpo said, “Okon surely has a name and deserves his place in the athletics world.”
“The zonal election was a family affair, and I fully concede defeat to Gabriel Okon, who is a brother and friend. However, I enjoin him to strive for effective and target-driven representation of the zone on the board,” Ikpokpo said.
“Athletics is not just big, but a critical subsector of our sports, and our fortunes in recent times indicate that there is a lot of work to do. This requires a high level of commitment and selflessness, which can only be achieved by not continuously pandering to the cleavages that have held the sports down, but by opening up the athletics ecosystem for greater participation and contributions by persons who are passionate about the sport. It is my hope that this sense of purpose will inform the mind of Nigeria Athletics family as we go into the main election scheduled for June 12.
“To all our friends and stakeholders who rooted for us, I say, let’s keep faith.”
