NUSSA Games 2018: Uniben VC expresses confidence of top spot at the games
University of Benin (UNIBEN), Vice Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orumwense has expressed confidence that the university staff athletes would excel at the forthcoming 13th Nigerian Universities Staff Sports Association (NUSSA) Games next month.
The staff games being hosted by University of Ilorin from September 21st – 30th, 2018, is expected to feature over seventy universities across both governments and private universities in the country taking part in sixteen events.
The VC stated this over the weekend during the Walk and Jog for Life exercise organised by the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Sports Council to sensitize staff in earnest for the games.
Prof. Orumwense, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Jacob Ehiorobo, lauded the organiser for deeming it fit to organise such exercise. “It is timing because a healthy man is a wealthy man, and only a healthy man that can perform his duty promptly.”
However, while speaking on the essence of the exercise, Uniben Director of Sports, Dr. Felicia Egbase stated that it was to sensitize the teeming staff on the need to be prepared for the zonal preliminary that kick started on Monday, (August 13th) across the six zones within the school.
Earlier on, Dr. Kayode Iyasere, Chairman UNIBEN Staff Sports Committee noted that the University is fully preparing to feature strong team at the games. The Vice Chancellor and the management team have given their support to ensure qualitative representation. Funding will not be our problem at the event proper in Ilorin.”
Dr. Egbase remarked that best staff athletes would represent the institution at the games, adding that the University management has promised to support them both financially and otherwise to ensure Uniben comes overall best at the end of the games.
She said: “The University zonal preliminary commenced on Monday across the six zones. Ekehuan campus is a zone on its own, while five zones are within the Ugbowo campus.
“Staff are to compete among themselves for selection of those that will represent the school at Unilorin. Sixteen sporting events will be competed for apart from judo and taekwondo which have been replaced with the game of golf and darts respectively.
The Union are also involved to see how sponsorship drive can be achieved. Our expectation is to win the games and nothing short of that. It is based on this that we are appealing to staff to come out in large numbers for the preliminary across the six zones.”
It could be recalled that Uniben hosted and won the 11th edition of the games in 2014, while it placed second at the 12th edition held at Nigerian Open University (NOUN), Kaduna in 2016.
