Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State yesterday described the emergence of Raymond Ekevwo as Africa’s fastest man as a testimony of the state huge investment in sports.
Ekevwo on Tuesday ran his all time personal best of 9.96 seconds to win the men’s 100m race at the ongoing 2019 All African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
The 20-year old sprint star hails from Agadama community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the Delta State. Another Deltan, Utseoritse Itsekiri, came third in the said 100m race. The governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika commended Ekevwo for making Delta and Nigeria proud.
He noted that the athlete is a product of the state government’s constant and huge investment in sports development. According to the governor, over years, the state government had done well in positioning its youths to excel in sports, with the provision of sporting facilities across the state.
“On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, I congratulate an illustrious son of the state, Raymond Ekevwo, on his supersonic victory, as the winner of the 100m gold at the All African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
“As the state celebrates 28th anniversary of its creation, it is a thing of joy that a Deltan has once again, brought great honour to us, by becoming Africa’s fastest man.
“His victory didn’t come as a fluke because, over the years, we have made concerted efforts at promoting sports development in our state by building sports facilities across the state.
“It has always been our firm belief that when you engage the youths in sporting activities, it keeps them away from social vices and we will continue to use sports as a tool to develop our stronger Delta vision,” he said.
Ekevwo had earlier in the year led Florida Central University to break the NCAA 4×100m record and ran the second fastest time of 10.02secs behind Divine Oduduru, another pride of Delta.
“It has always been our firm belief that when you engage the youths in sporting activities, it keeps them away from social vices and we will continue to use sports as a tool to develop our Stronger Delta vision,” he said.
