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Tag: Ikpokpo

  • NDG: Ikpokpo challenges Liaison Committees on athletes’ registration

    NDG: Ikpokpo challenges Liaison Committees on athletes’ registration

    Performing the inauguration of the Akwa Ibom State Liaison Committee for the 2nd Niger Delta Games (NDG), Sir Malik Ikpokpo KSM, the Managing Director of Dunamis Icon Limited and Project Consultant for the Games, has urged all the states committee members to mobilize their athletes and coaches for registration  on the games portal.

     He also reiterated that the 2026 games is strictly for athletes under 20 years.

    Represented by  Fred Edoreh, the Games Project Director, Ikpokpo said:  “Members of the various state committees have to mobilize for the registration of their athletes on the games’ portal as non-registered athletes will be denied clearance to participate in the fiesta.”

    At the inauguration ceremony in his office, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Elder Paul Bassey described the Niger Delta Games as an enabler for youth sports development that aligns with the state government’s vision for grassroots empowerment through sports.

    Bassey commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Dunamis Icon Limited for collaborating to initiate the games for states of region.

    Bassey said: “i must commend the Niger Delta Development Commission and Dunamis Icon for putting together the initiative and sustaining it for two unbroken years. The upcoming event is a veritable platform for the discovery and development of talents.

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    “It is the mandate of His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, for us to go to the grassroots and discover talents, and these games have come to help us achieve exactly that.”

    “On behalf the committee, I assure you that we’ll insist on quality, thoroughness, discipline and total compliance,” Bassey assured the organisers.

    The Akwa Ibom Liaison Committee is led by the Honourable Commissioner for Sports as chairman, while Mfon Bassey serves as secretary. Others are, Olympian Catherine Ewa – member, George Essien – member, and Edidiong Stephen – member.

    The committee is saddled with the responsibility of pre-games coordination and logistical planning for a hitch-free participation of Team Akwa Ibom in the games.

  • Irri Kingdom honours Ikpokpo with traditional title

    Irri Kingdom honours Ikpokpo with traditional title

    History was on Friday rewritten in Irri, one of the largest and most influential clans in Isoko Nation, as the Odiologbo of Irri Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Simon Wajutome Odhomo, Igbogidi I, conferred the revered title of “Clan Otota” on Sir Itiako Constantine Onoriode Ikpokpo.

    Read Also: Prayers, foreign assistance solution to Nigeria’s insecurity – Anglican Bishop

    The Clan Otota which is traditionally the official spokesperson and highest-ranking chief next only to the monarch, is a position reserved for individuals of proven integrity, exceptional service, and deep commitment to the progress of their people. For the chiefs and people of Irri, the honour bestowed on Ikpokpo was not just symbolic; it was the affirmation of a legacy.

  • Community policing key to ending insecurity— Ikpokpo 

    Community policing key to ending insecurity— Ikpokpo 

    Former Director General of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and Managing Consultant Crestpoint consulting Ltd, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo KSM has urged the Nation’s parliament to urgently provide the necessary legislative framework and constitutional provisions to institutionalize community policing under the control and regulation of local governments as a lasting solution to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

    In a statement, Ikpokpo commended the recent military clampdown on kidnappers around Ogwashi-Uku and other parts of Delta North Senatorial District, noting that the support and intelligence-gathering roles of community vigilantes and volunteer security groups were crucial to the success of those operations. 

    He stressed that such outcomes underscore the non-negotiable role of community policing in fighting insecurity across the country.

    The former ALGON Delta Chairman and former Chairman of Isoko South Local Government Area observed that until a well-structured community policing system under the control of the local government and backed by constitutional regulation on mode of operations and funding is enacted by the National Assembly and domesticated by the various State Assemblies, the nation’s security challenges will persist.

    He listed the shortage of security personnel, rising population, vast landmass, unfamiliar terrain, and cultural and language barriers as key factors undermining the current policing structure.

    “The recent successes by security agencies in Ogwashi-Uku and other parts of Delta North against kidnappers, coupled with the backing roles of community vigilantes and volunteers, highlight the urgent need for the institutionalisation of community policing under the regulation and control of local governments. 

    While we have pockets of vigilante and volunteer groups across the country, it is expedient to legitimise and integrate them into the local government-led community policing system,” he stated.

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    Ikpokpo lamented the delay in legislative and policy conversations around community policing, describing it as a major factor behind Nigeria’s deteriorating security. He aligned with security experts who believe that institutionalised community policing could reduce insecurity by 60 to 70 percent, citing his practical and administrative experiences as local government chairman.

    Recounting his tenure between 2014 and 2021, Ikpokpo revealed that the total police strength in Isoko South Local Government never exceeded 60 personnel for an area covering 668 square kilometres and over 10 towns and communities.

    “Beyond the inadequate number of personnel, issues such as language and cultural barriers, alongside difficult terrain, have rendered the present policing system grossly insufficient. Our communities are largely unpoliced spaces where crime and criminality thrive unchallenged. To argue otherwise is to live in denial,” he warned.

    Ikpokpo called on the National Assembly and the various State Assemblies to as a matter of urgency, initiate modalities for local government community policing and enact appropriate legislations for its operation.

    “It is the surest panacea to the hydra-headed insecurity plaguing the nation,” he declared

  • Auto crash: Ikpokpo extends condolence to Kano sports community

    Auto crash: Ikpokpo extends condolence to Kano sports community

    A Presidential aspirant in the forthcoming  election into the board of  the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) , Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, has condoled with the government and people of Kano State over the tragic loss of 22 athletes who represented the state at the just ended National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    Itiako described their death as a very sad loss of promising sportsmen and women at a time the national sports ecosystem is being rejigged for the good of athletes in the country.

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    Tragedy struck few kilometres to their destination when the bus conveying them from Abeokuta skidded off a bridge, resulting in many injuries and fatalities.

    “The tragedy is such that one initially found unbelievable. It took me time to come to terms with the enormity of the tragic outcome.

    “Those were a crop of future faces of national athletes that got cut short in their prime”, Ikpokpo lamented and added that it is cruel death to young talents who are heroes for representing their state and nation .

    He prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead athletes and enjoined their immediate families, friends and colleagues to find the strength to endure the difficult times.

    “Allah knows best why this tragedy occurred and we are not in a position to question our maker that gives life”, Ikpokpo rued on a philosophical note.

  • Gateway Games 2024 will deliver lasting  legacies, says Ikpokpo

    Gateway Games 2024 will deliver lasting  legacies, says Ikpokpo

    The initiator of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, Sir Itiako Malik Ikpokpo, believes the ongoing 22nd  National Sports Festival tagged Gateway Games Ogun 2024, would deliver lasting legacies following the provision of new facilities and upgrade of older ones by the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led Ogun State government.

    He  said the festival otherwise known as Gateway Games Ogun 2024, is a massive improvement from the last edition hosted by Delta State, adding the facilities on offer  for the festival are up to standard.

     Ikpokpo,  said as much after watching some of the events at the MKO  Sports Complex in  Kuto and other centres located within the state’s capital city, Abeokuta.

    He was  particularly  elated with  the facilities within the MKO Sports Arena as he urged other state governments to give more than lip service  to sports.

    “I think it’s for state governments to realize that they cannot continue to take sports as a social service,” Ikpokpo, the  Chairman of Dumanis Icon, stated matter-of-factly. “Sports is serious business.

    “Sports should be  (administered)  like every other ministry. Ministry of Works, Ministry of Health. Sports is part of our value chains, sports is part of our life. And so we can’t just put it there.”

    Ikpokpo, however,  singled out some state governments for commendations following their deployment of resources to the country’s  sporting ecosystem.

    He continued: “I can tell there are a lot of states that take sports seriously. Delta, Bayelsa, River, you know, we have state makers. So we have states that take sports seriously. And I think that should be a general phenomenon around the country that sports development is taken seriously and not treated as just a social service and  just ‘one of those ministries’.”

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    Addressing the massive improvement on the organisation of the on-going National Sports Festival,  Ikpokpo praised the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko and Director-General, Bukola Olopade for their untiring  efforts in order to make the Gateway Games Ogun 2024 a huge success.

    He said: ”First of all, I think that we must say the way it is. It’s (Gateway  Games Ogun 2024) is  a huge, big improvement from what we have always had. I think it’s also because of the personalities involved. I think that basically, the two personalities involved in managing the commission, Shehu Dikko and my friend Bukola Olopade,  you can see the razzmatazz, you can see the excitement, you can see the joy. “

     “We are at the swimming venue. You can see how all of us are gathered to watch and cheering up the  swimmers.

    “So I think there’s a lot of (improvement )…The idea is that for every festival, there must be improvement. If there’s no improvement, then there’s no legacy to be left. It’s sporty, it’s exciting. It took them more than two years to really get this thing done after the last festival.”

    “ I think they (NSC  have planned well, whether it’s six months, whether it’s two years, whether it’s ten years. And we’re here and we’re all enjoying ourselves.

    “ From the Niger Delta Sports Festival, we have some athletes coming here competing too.”

    Ikpokpo, a two-term Chairman of Isoko South Local Government Council in Delta State, and also a Deputy National President of ALGON, is full expectations from athletes competing at Gateway Games Ogun 2024, adding all athletes must showcase sportsmanship even as he praised the organisers for clamping down on athletes with doping-related issues.

    He volunteered :“New winners. Records broken. I look forward to (seeing) young athletes, the older ones doing well.

    “But the younger ones competing and making sure they break records. That’s what athletics is all about.

    “The most important thing is that the National Sports Commission deemed it fit, investigated and banned them( athletes with doping-related issues) again. That’s what’s important. So the Sports Commission has the presence of mind to be able to continue to do what is right.”

    Ikpokpo who is reportedly  targeting the office of the  President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, has made a clarion call on officials and athletes at the ongoing NSF.

    “Officials should be fair,” he noted.“ Athletes should compete with all their hearts and make sure they do their states proud and (make) Nigeria proud.”