•Governor Umo Eno (R) and Troost-Ekong
Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has disclosed plans by the state to host a sports festival to discover talents and grow the sports industry.
The governor made this known, yesterday, June 25, 2025, when he hosted Akwa Ibom sports stars William Troost-Ekong and Idara Otu, in the company of their families, to a dinner at his lodge in Government House, Uyo.
He said the dinner was simply to demonstrate how much the duo are valued and celebrated for their talents, which have distinguished them globally and helped project their father’s land, Akwa Ibom State, to the world.
Governor Eno said it has become an entrenched practice in his administration to celebrate Akwa Ibom people who, through dint of hard work, are making impacts in different fields of human endeavour and making the state proud.
He said sports development is one of the key areas of the ARISE Agenda, adding that the soon-to-be-flagged-off sports academy and other efforts within the sector — including the 9-hole golf course and other sporting facilities at the ARISE Resort — are geared towards promoting sports and sports tourism.
The governor said that through the efforts of successive leaders, the state has the only FIFA-approved football field in the country and a standard Olympic-size swimming pool, adding that with the support of Akwa Ibom sports stars, the vision of sports development, as contained in the ARISE Agenda, will be fully actualised.
He appreciated Troost-Ekong for his backward integration programmes and expressed hope that, with such gestures, young talents would be discovered and groomed for the future.
The governor, who has on several occasions celebrated different Akwa Ibom sons and daughters who are blazing the trail and making impacts, called on them to partner with the state in their areas of strength in order to assist in grooming the younger ones and sustaining the trajectory of making the state play big on the international scene.
In his tone-setting remarks, the Commissioner for Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, appreciated the governor for hosting the sports stars, saying it was no mean feat for the state to have a captain of the national team and one who is doing so well.
Bassey, who enumerated some giant strides of Governor Eno’s administration in the sports sector, said the governor is very passionate about reviving sports in the state.
In his remarks, Troost-Ekong appreciated the governor for creating time to host him and his family, as well as Idara Otu, the star athlete, and her family.
He said he was in the country for a talent hunt under the auspices of the Troost Ekong Foundation, with a mission to empower Nigerian and African youths with football and education, and to inspire success, resilience, and community leadership.
The football star commended Governor Eno for his leadership philosophy, development strides, and the foresighted, progressive alignment with government at the centre, which he said will positively impact the state.
Troost-Ekong is a professional footballer, captain of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, and plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Kholood.
Otu is a Nigerian sprinter who competed in the 4 × 400 m relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was an All-American sprinter for the Stanford Cardinal track and field team, finishing 3rd in the 400m leg of the distance medley relay at the 2008 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.
At the dinner were the Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Lady Helen Eno-Obareki; Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah; Executive Assistant/Chief Delivery Advisor, Mr. Aniefiok Johnson; Dean, College of Commissioners, Hon. Frank Archibong; immediate past Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sir Monday Uko; and other members of the State Executive Council.
