NIPOGA Games: NANS rejects ‘transfer of hosting rights’ to Kwara

The National Association of Nigerian Students, South-South Zone B, has kicked against the transfer of the hosting rights of the 22nd edition of the Nigeria Polytechnic Games from Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku to Kwara State.

Coordinator of NANS Zone B (South-South) Secretariat, Levi Okuru, expressed the displeasure of students in the zone during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Okuru described the transfer of rights as sudden and unacceptable, adding that the decision was taken without consulting the students, the main participants of the event.

He said if the venue was not reversed from Kwara to Delta, the students would mobilise and stampede any other venue chosen for the event, saying the South-South had never hosted the Games.

Okuru stated, “We express the students’ dissatisfaction with the sudden change of venue by some members of the COHEADS.

“The decision to move the games to Kwara State is ill-timed, bias and made without consulting the stakeholders, particularly the students, who are the main participants in the events.

“The sudden change of venue is unacceptable to us, and we demand an immediate reversal of the decision.

“We wish to state unequivocally, without fear or favour, that there will be no NIPOGA Games if Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku is not the host institution for the 22nd edition, as we shall mobilise all our students and structures to stampede any other venue.”

Okuru reiterated NANS’ commitment to protecting the interests of its members, saying, “We wish to further state that the South-South Zone of NANS has always been committed to promoting the welfare and interests of Nigerian students and will not fold its arms while the rights of its members are trampled upon.

“On this note, we wish to state that if the decision is not reversed, the association will be forced to take drastic measures to ensure that the rights of its members are protected.”

He added that the South-South Zone had never hosted the NIPOGA Games since its inception, adding that Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku had invested heavily in preparations for the Games.

“It is also on record that as a geopolitical zone, the South-South region has never hosted the NIPOGA Games for the past four decades that the polytechnic Games were established. We are not second fiddle to any region.

“The Southwest and North Central regions have hosted this Games countless times, and it is unfortunate and pathetic to think of taking the Games back to North Central this time again as against the South-South region, which is the duly elected venue for this year’s edition.”

The Nigeria Polytechnic Games is a biennial event that brings together students from polytechnics across the country to compete in different sports.