Following the colourful opening ceremony of the 9th National Youth Games at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Friday, Plateau State stood out as one of the states with the most admired outfits for its athletes.
The commendation came after a random survey conducted among spectators shortly after the traditional march-past of participating states.
Reacting to the development, Plateau State Director of Sports, Prof. Ezra Gunen, attributed the recognition to the strong backing of Governor Caleb Mutfwang, whom he described as a true lover of sports.
“When you have the best Governor who loves sports, what else do you expect? He wants to see his children appear at their best. In the last 30 years, we have not had it this good, so we will continue to put our hands and heads together to support him,” Prof. Gunen said.
He further revealed that Plateau presented young athletes across 25 sports for the Games, with an impressive success rate during screening.
“During the screening held a few days ago, we had a 99.8% clearance rate—only two athletes were screened out. The coaches have done a fantastic job. We have some of the youngest athletes here; yesterday, an 8-year-old in primary three spoke brilliantly on air. The goal is to groom athletes who can seamlessly win medals in the next two to three years,” he added.
Prof. Gunen also emphasized Plateau’s grassroots sports development, noting that during school vacations, children are engaged in various sporting events at the stadium. From there, the best are selected into sports academies for structured training.
Meanwhile, Team Plateau secured its first medal of the Games through Onanefe Samuel, who won silver in the Karate +50kg category. Samuel defeated opponents from Abia, Kwara, and Anambra States before narrowly losing to his Delta State counterpart in the final.