Kaduna State Government, Emir of Katsina, former governors and UNICEF have commended Access Bank Group and its partner, Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Polo Club, Access Bank Plc as well as UNICEF for leading the campaign to alleviate the plights of vulnerable and orphaned children in Kaduna State and its environs using the platform of the game of the kings, polo.
The Emir of Katsina, His Royal Highness Dr. Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman who was the Special Guest of Honour at the finals of the just concluded 2023 edition of the international charity polo tournament in Kaduna, lead praises for Access Bank, Fifth Chukker Polo and other partners for using the fund-raising opportunity to enhance the educational and general well-being of children in a special way.
“There is an important need for both private and public sectors to do a lot more in support of the Nigerian child, particularly the orphans and vulnerable children to enable them look forward to a better tomorrow,” the royal father advised.
On the margins of this well-attended polo tourney, there was the unveiling of a new school uniforms and shoes for the pupils of Access Bank-Fifth Chukker Maraban Jos Primary School in Kaduna coupled with the N10 million donation by Access Bank as part of the highlights at the prestigious polo extravaganza,
Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe who unveiled the newly designed uniforms and shoes for the pupils of the Access Bank Fifth Chukker Maraban Jos Primary School in Kaduna noted that the Charity Shield polo platform has over the past two decades, been a major project for Kaduna State Government in its drive to give millions of out of school children a future.
“I call on parents, particularly mothers to stop their children from street trading, begging and other exploitative vices in rural and urban areas across the state for their education with this school funded by the charity shield polo partners,” Balarabe pleaded.
Former Kaduna State governors, Ahmed Makarfi, Ramalan Yero as well as the immediate past Niger State Governor, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello all lauded the organisers of the tournament for the charitable gesture of giving the teeming orphans and vulnerable children across in Kaduna and its environs great hope for better lives.
Revered as one of the biggest fundraising platforms in Africa, this polo tournament is regarded as the most supported charity polo event in the history of Nigerian sport and it has so far raised more than N500 million for UNICEF in support of projects aimed at alleviating the plights of the underprivileged children in Kaduna State and its environs.
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Witnessed by a high-profile crowd that included governors, diplomats, first class emirs, top government dignitaries UNICEF Officials and thousands of polo buff from within and outside the country, the grand finale of the fund-raising polo extravaganza produced four great finals in the low, intermediate, medium, and high goals categories.
The polo tournament that pitched over 10 teams climaxed in a fiercely fought final game where Access Bank Team (1) team defeated Jos Malcomines 9-7 in the final game, to clinch the event’s biggest prize, the Charity Shield.
Other top winners of the international polo fiesta include the impressive Access Bank team (2) who turned their outsiders rating to pure gold with an emphatic defeat of former winners, Kaduna Kangimi to clinch the glittering Access Bank Cup.
The ambitious YBL team from Abuja hanged onto a late strike by their patron, Colonel Bello to earn their biggest honour yet by edging their better mounted Max Air opponents, to the second place in the race for the Usman Dantata Cup.
Chief Host and Chairman Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Resort, Adamu Atta led top dignitaries include Emirs of Katsina, Zaria, former Kaduna State Governors, and UNICEF officials to hand out prizes to winners and runners-up players in a colourful closing ceremony that brought down the curtain on the 2023 edition of the charity polo fiesta.
The Nigerian edition of the tournament is the second phase of the series that was inaugurated in South Africa last year while the third and final phase of the intervention effort that has empowered the surrounding communities with provision of basic amenities, will climax in Europe later in the year.
Polo Pix Caption:
Winners of Usman Dantata Cup, Abuja YBL showcase their prized trophy with the Emir of Zaria, and other officials during the closing ceremony of the 2023 Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield Polo tournament in Kaduna.
