Group Edo has been topped total champions of the second version of the Niger Delta Video games, following a dominant show on house soil in Benin Metropolis that noticed the host state high the ultimate medal desk and finish a 24-year look forward to regional supremacy.
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In a tightly contested championship that went right down to the ultimate day, Edo completed first with a formidable haul of 52 gold, 34 silver and 25 bronze medals, accumulating a complete of 111 medals to edge previous Delta and Bayelsa States.
Delta State secured second place with 39 gold, 29 silver and 34 bronze medals (102 whole), whereas defending champions Bayelsa settled for third with 25 gold, 24 silver and 26 bronze medals.
Akwa Ibom positioned fourth with 16 gold medals amongst 55 whole medals, Abia completed fifth with 45 medals, Cross River sixth with 38 medals, Ondo seventh with 34 medals, Rivers eighth with 44 medals however fewer gold, and Imo rounded off the standings in ninth place with 31 medals.
The victory represents a historic milestone for Edo, dethroning Bayelsa and reaffirming the state’s rising fame as a powerhouse in Nigerian sports activities.
Reacting to the achievement, the Govt Chairman of the Edo State Sports activities Fee, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, via his Media Officer, Edoko Wilson Edoko, described the triumph as a defining second within the state’s sporting historical past.
He devoted the success to the Govt Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa.
“This victory belongs to His Excellency, our dynamic and sports-loving Governor,” Enabulele stated. “From the very starting, he made it clear that Edo wouldn’t solely host however compete to win. He supplied the imaginative and prescient, assets and enabling setting that empowered our athletes to carry out at their absolute best.”
He attributed the success to deliberate funding in sports activities growth, improved welfare for athletes and coaches, and strategic planning, noting that breaking a 24-year jinx was the results of intentional management, disciplined preparation and athlete resilience.
Enabulele additionally praised the athletes, coaches, technical crew and assist employees for his or her unity and willpower all through the competitors, describing the Video games as each a sporting contest and a platform for youth engagement and regional unity.
“The Niger Delta Video games have as soon as once more proven that sports activities stay a robust software for unity, peace and growth. Edo is not going to relaxation on this achievement; we’re dedicated to constructing sustainable constructions for continued dominance,” he added.
In the meantime, the Director Basic of the Nationwide Sports activities Fee, Bukola Olopade, formally declared the Video games closed at a vibrant ceremony on Thursday night in Benin Metropolis.
Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Olopade defined the broader worth of sports activities past successful medals, describing the competition as a catalyst for youth empowerment, social integration and financial progress.
“Sports activities is not only about podium placement or successful,” he stated.
“It’s about group engagement, financial empowerment and the feel-good ambiance that unites our individuals. All of those are absolutely entrenched within the Niger Delta Video games.”
He assured that the Fee would proceed to assist the initiative, commending the organizers for his or her stance towards age dishonest and drug use, and calling on governors of the Niger Delta states to work intently with the Niger Delta Improvement Fee to make sure the sustainability of the Video games.
Olopade famous that knowledge from sporting occasions throughout the nation present clear financial advantages, together with job creation, assist for small companies and elevated visibility for host cities.
“The true winners of those Video games are the younger individuals of the Niger Delta,” he concluded, because the curtain fell on what has been broadly hailed as a profitable and aggressive second version.
The 2026 Niger Delta Video games featured over 3,000 athletes from the 9 Niger Delta states competing in 17 sporting occasions, setting a brand new benchmark for regional sports activities festivals in Nigeria.
