The National Spokesperson of the Ijaw Youth Council Ebilade Ekerefe has commended organizers of the NDDC Under 17 Peace Cup 2021 for the initiative.
Ekerefe gave the commendation at the opening ceremony of the competition which held at the Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium, Akwa Ibom State.
“For me, I must thank the organisers of this laudable initiative. football is a veritable tool for social reengineering -especially at this time where there’s series of crises and insecurity in the country. Niger/Delta has been very peaceful and a competition like this will go further to consolidate the peace we are enjoying. Not only that, this is another opportunity to identify and nurture young promising talents in the country.
“And so, as Ijaw Youth Council,we commend and support initiatives like this and we are happy that the commission (NDDC) had also made commitments to ensure that programmes like these are supported.”
He added that the tournament would be beneficial to the youths and also help reduce crime.
“Our clarion call has always been that the Niger/Delta should be developed. Development can come in many forms. Sports development is very key, because when the youths are carried along in the area of sports, it will reduce crime and criminality.”
