Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has expressed its administration’s readiness to host the 43rd edition of the Federation of Public Service Games (FEPSGA) 2024.
The event is scheduled to hold from November 27 to December 5 in Port Harcourt.
Represented by Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, the governor, disclosed that the state first hosted the games during the administration of Dr. Peter Odili, adding that hosting it for the second time is an opportunity to build on the success registered two decades ago.
According to him, “His Excellency has granted his approval for this game to hold in Rivers State and have put every necessary facility in order to ensure that we organise and host a very seamless and superlative game in the State.”
Dr. Danagogo revealed that the 2024 FEPSGA game is christened, “SIMPLIFIEDRIVERS2024” and will be staged between November 27 to December 5, 2024.
The governor expressed appreciation to the local organising committee, the State Civil Servants for their preparedness, and the National body for giving Rivers State the opportunity to showcase her huge potentials in sports and hospitality.
He maintained that the importance of sports cannot be overestimated as it adds to the overall well-being of workers; promoting unity, team spirit, physical and mental health of the workforce.
The governor challenged team Rivers to make the state proud during the competition.
On his part, the co-chairman of local organising committee (LOC) and Head of service, Mr George Nweke expressed confidence in the ability of the State to stage a great event as the LOC is working round the clock to raise the bar with the 2024 edition of FEPSGA.
He said the competition presents a veritable opportunity for Rivers State civil/public servants to collaborate with their contemporaries and harness productivity across the country.
The President of the Federation of Public Service Games, Comr Aloku Amaebi, highlighted that FEPSGA is one of the biggest sports festivals in Nigeria and ranks in the category of National Sports Festival in terms of magnitude of events, size and strength of participation, adding that with the over 10,000 athletes that are expected to participate in the SimplifiedRivers2024 edition, it will not only improve socio-economic activities, but to the GDP of Rivers State.
In this edition, the games have been expanded to have16 competitive games, including ball games such as, tennis, long tennis badminton; board games like chess, draft, etc. The games will include swimming events. Paraevents will be introduced for the first time to give people with disabilities (PWD) opportunities to explore their talents.