Ex Nigerian jumper, hurdler and sprinter, Seigha Porbeni, has revealed that Delta state still has a long way to go despite dominating the National Sports Festival since the return to democracy in 1999, as he described sports in the state in its 29 years of existence as a mixture of dwindling and inconsistent successes.
The state which was created by General Ibrahim Babangida’s military regime inn 1991 celebrated its 29th year establishment last week Thursday. While the government and some of the people were celebrating, Porbeni, who was the state director of sports in 1991, took his time to reflect of their achievement in the area of sports.
“It has been a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly for sports in Delta state since 1991,” Porbeni told The Guardian yesterday. Under Porbeni’s tenure, Team Delta contributed great athletes to the nation’s sports. And since his departure, the state has maintained its position as the ‘capital of sports’ in Nigeria.”
“Winning the National Sports Festival six times in eight editions. Delta won at Bauchi 2000, Abuja 2004 and Gateway 2006 under Chief James Ibori’s administration (1999-2007), KADA 2009 and Eko 2012 under Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (2007-2015), while the current governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has accounted for one victory at Abuja 2018. Team Delta has won all editions of the National Youth Games under Okowa.”
