Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has expressed delight over the recent election of the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Daniel Igali, into the United World Wrestling Bureau.
The governor, who was out of the country, spoke on Thursday morning at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa shortly after the weekly health and fitness exercise tagged Prosperity Walk.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as saying that Igali’s victory as the first black to be elected into the global wrestling body has again put Bayelsa prominently on the world map of sports.
Governor Diri described Igali, who is also president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), as a committed professional whose dedication to duty has paid off and urged others to emulate him.
He said the state will always support Bayelsans that aspire to greater heights in different professions.
He remarked that the state was proud of Igali’s achivements, especially in wrestling, and wished him well in his task as a member of the apex wrestling body.
Governor Diri also praised the St. Jude’s Girls School and their male counterparts from Bishop Dimieri Grammar School for their performance in the ongoing World Schools Basketball Championship holding in Belgrade, Serbia.
The state’s helmsman, who disclosed that he was in touch with the state teams representing Nigeria at the tournament, said he was delighted at both teams victory over Hungary and Turkey in their opening group games.
Diri noted that with the performance of Bayelsa in sports, the state now occupied an enviable place in Nigeria’s sports and expressed the optimism that the state will continue to break more grounds in sporting events.
His words: “I like to use this opportunity to appreciate the sports loving men and women of Bayelsa State. Our state now occupies an enviable place in sports in the country.
“I have been in touch with our basketball teams in Serbia and they are doing well. The miracle keeps happening and it will never cease. Our prayers are with them till they come back victorious.
“Last week, our own sports commissioner represented us at the world body for wrestling and he came back as the only black man elected so far into the global body. This is what I keep preaching. Be committed to your work and with support from government you will do well. We are sure that more victories will come to the state.
“In Nigeria, anytime I travel, they ask me what is the magic in Bayelsa and I say, we trust in God always.”
