Pius Ayinor
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs, Adewale Adeniyi on Tuesday declared open the Military and Para-military Wrestling Championship in Abuja. The competition which is in its maiden edition is the brainchild of CG Adeniyi.
The five-day championship witnessed a colourful opening ceremony with various agencies showcasing an entertaining parade.
The CG emphasized that the tournament was borne out of the wrestling federation’s desire to take wrestling to the grassroots. The Customs boss is a long-standing member of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation.
He said, “It gives me great honour to celebrate this sporting excellence, especially that of wrestling. The seed for this tournament was sown about a year ago in Yenagoa during our board meeting, where everyone unanimously agreed to begin to build future champions that will represent Nigeria in major international events.
“In that meeting, we also decided that the military and para-military sectors should be organised to have this tournament, and I’m happy the dream that was nurtured that day has come to fruition.
“Wrestlers and the military share similar attributes like discipline, character, respect for your opponent, teamwork, strategy and playing the game according to the rules and all these can determine as a military if we win or lose.”
In his earlier remark, the chairman Local Organizing Committee, Brigadier-General Olawale Fawole, expressed gratitude to the Customs boss for the magnanimity of hosting the national championship for the military and paramilitary.
“I want to state that the brain work behind this championship is of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service. I want to acknowledge his interest and dedication at every stage towards the preparation of this championship.
“I want to thank the Nigeria Wrestling Federation board for the trust placed in the LOC and all other stakeholders who collaborated to ensure that today becomes a reality.”
The Vice President Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Chris Amkpila, who stood in for the President, extended the Federation’s warm appreciation to the CG for the sponsorship of the national event.
“On behalf of the President and all the board members of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation I welcome you to this delightful occasion, but before we begin, I want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Comptroller General of Customs for sponsoring this event,” he said.
“We want to thank the Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, and heads of various agencies represented here today for availing your athletes to participate in this tournament.
“We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Minister of Sports for all the support he has given to the Wrestling Federation.”
The ceremony was concluded with some fights including Okasha Sani (Nigeria Police Force) losing to Pakistan Alfred (NSCDC) in the 63kg 10-0. In a keenly contested 82kg match, Samuel Kure (Customs) beat Chinoso Robinson (Nigeria Police Force) 7-6.
In the last bout, Musa A (Nigeria Air Force) lost to Tobechukwu Udeh (Nigeria Army) 8-0 Superiority in the 82kg category.
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