By Keresifon Essien

Akwa Ibom State will parade a strong contingent of about 280 athletes and 44 officials at the 2026 Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF), scheduled to hold in Benin City, Edo State, from February 20 to 28.

The State Commissioner for Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Curator of Keresy Sports Museum (KSM), Keresifon Essien, noting that Team Akwa Ibom will compete in 16 sporting events at the regional multi-sports fiesta.

According to Bassey, the sports in which the state will feature include football, basketball, volleyball, handball, table tennis, badminton, lawn tennis, boxing, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, weightlifting, swimming and chess.

To ensure optimal preparation, the state government has constituted a five-man State Liaison Committee to oversee arrangements for the festival. The committee is chaired by the Commissioner for Sports, Elder Paul Bassey.

Other members of the committee are Coach Catherine Ewa Ekuta, Head of Technical; Guinness World Record holder George Essien; Edidiong Stephen, a member; and Mfon Bassey, who serves as Secretary.

Bassey explained that the committee has been mandated to fine-tune all preparations for the festival, beginning with the state trials scheduled for this weekend, and to ensure that the contingent arrives in Benin City fully prepared and ready to project Akwa Ibom State positively at the Niger Delta Sports Festival.

He expressed confidence that with proper planning and early preparations, Team Akwa Ibom will make a strong impression when the festival proper begins.

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Team Nigeria on Monday afternoon departed the country for Cairo, Egypt, where they will compete in the 2025 World Karate Championship scheduled for November 27–30.

The nation will be represented by five outstanding athletes who have demonstrated exceptional discipline, consistency, and competitive grit in their buildup to the global event. The team is made up of:

• Loveth Ngozi Okoro – Kumite -50kg
• Godfirst Orie Ukoha-Sampson – Kumite -55kg
• Constance Tamunodiepreye Abode – Kumite -61kg
• Ujunwa Caroline Nwankwo – Kumite +68kg
• Oluwaseun Olorunbe – Male Kata

The athletes, who have undergone intense preparations, will be led by coach Efezino Akpotu, while Olusegun Abode serves as the leader of delegation.

Four members of the squad—Ngozi, Godfirst, Constance, and Ujunwa—are already well-known names on the domestic circuit. They are regular contenders at the Zainab Saleh International Female Open Karate Championship, an annual tournament founded by Hajiya Zainab Saleh, a Board Member of the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN). The championship has been widely recognised for empowering and developing female karatekas across the country.

Ahead of the team’s participation, the Board of the KFN expressed confidence in the athletes’ ability to deliver strong performances on the world stage.

However, it also appealed to the National Sports Commission (NSC) for urgent financial support to offset debts incurred in ensuring Nigeria’s participation in the championship.

According to the federation, the World Karate Championship falls under the mandate of the NSC, and timely intervention is necessary to stabilise the federation’s operations after securing the team’s trip to Cairo.

Team Nigeria will now focus on making a strong impact as they join the world’s best karatekas in Egypt later this week.

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C.S.C.S. (Community Secondary Commercial School) Ibiaku Itam, Uyo, etched their name into the history books after emerging champions in both the boys’ and girls’ categories of Season 4 of the Nigeria Secondary School Flag Football League (NSSFFL), concluded last Friday in Abuja.

Their triumph was made even more remarkable by the arduous 16-hour road journey undertaken by the 22 students and officials, who arrived in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday and still delivered an outstanding performance on the field.

The school’s success is rooted in a unique multi-sport development model. Five of the victorious female flag football players are also members of the school’s netball team, while two netballers featured in the boys’ squad. Many team members are multi-talented athletes who actively compete in cricket, further demonstrating the school’s commitment to nurturing all-round sporting excellence.

C.S.C.S. Ibiaku Itam offers students broad exposure to a wide array of sports including football, scrabble, rugby, athletics, chess, netball, volleyball, and badminton. Students are encouraged to try their hands at various disciplines before specialising in a sport of their choice in their final year—an approach that continues to produce exceptional talent.

The school’s model is already yielding national and international results. In January, two of its students represented Nigeria at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. In addition, a former student who graduated in 2022 is now playing professional football in Norway.

With their double victory in Abuja, C.S.C.S. Ibiaku Itam have reinforced their reputation as one of Nigeria’s rising powerhouses in school sports—combining passion, resilience, and a forward-thinking development strategy that continues to shape future stars.

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