Tag: Okpekpe race:

One of Nigeria’s leading indigenous Oil and Gas companies, Dan Oil and Petrochemicals Limited and The Wells Carlton Hotel and Luxury Apartments, a five-star hospitality outfit which provides a surreal, fantasy-like journey into a glamorous world of pure luxury, have become the latest corporate organisations to throw their weight behind the IAAF silver label international 10km road race.

Mercy Etukudo, who heads the secretariat of the first road running event in West Africa to be granted an IAAF label status announced at the weekend the coming on board of the two heavyweight companies as preparations continue for a hitch-free race on Saturday in Okpekpe near Auchi, Etsako East local government area of Edo state.

‘We are delighted to have on board one of Nigeria’s leading international oil companies, Dan Oil and Petrochemicals Limited and The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments as official partners.

‘While Dan Oil, an indigenous Oil and Gas Company incorporated in 2002 under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a limited liability Company, will sponsor our women empowerment programme, The Wells Carlton hotel and apartments is coming as our hotel/hospitality partner’ said the delectable Miss Etukudo.

”The Okpekpe race is not just about athletes running on a smooth, asphalted road constructed by the Edo state government in and around Okpekpe town, it is also used as a platform to promote causes that will benefit the society or draw attention to social vices.

Since the inaugural edition of the race, we have always had people and organisations who used our platform to promote so many charitable causes.

”On our own, we have also been consistent in empowering women of the community as we know there is no better tool for development that is more effective than empowering our women. As the saying goes, when you educate a man, you educate an individual but when you educate a woman, you are educating an entire family.

”This is why we are happy that Dan Oil and Petrochemicals Limited have accepted to empower not less than 50 women in and around Okpekpe town. The women will be trained and provided a tool to work,” said Etukudo.

”We are also happy with the official announcement of The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments as our official hotel/hospitality partner. We are super delighted the owner of the five-star hotel, Captain (Dr.) Idahosa Wells Okunbo JP has also registered for the race.”

Coca-Cola and Eva Water will refresh athletes, officials, spectators and VIPs when the 7th edition of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) silver label Okpekpe international 10km road race holds on May 25, 2019, in Okpekpe, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Zak Amodu, director of organisation for the race reveals that Coca-Cola, the best-known and biggest-selling soft drink in history and Eva water, the processed water which is subjected to filtering and purification treatment before being bottled and is compliant with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have come on board as refreshment partners of the historic race.

”This is a big development for us at Okpekpe to have unarguably the best soft drink and purest processed water join us as we strive to make more history for Nigeria and West Africa,” said Amodu.

”Remember we are the first road race to be granted a label race in West Africa, which means we are the first road running event to be internationally recognised. We didn’t stop there as we also moved a step up to a silver label race and our target now is to go for gold.”

”A label certifies the global sporting significance of the race, the organisational quality and the compliance with relevant IAAF competition rules,” explains Amodu who restated the organiser’s resolve to use a gold label template to organise this year’s event in a fortnight.

”Our target is to get a gold label for the race next year and the new IAAF road race rules have made it compulsory that we use the template of the label we are aspiring for in the event preceding the label. This means that this year’s race will have a gold label standard written all over it, especially in terms of the quality of the elite field.”

Amodu reveals Coca-Cola and Eva will be providing cash and all its products in Nigeria for the race.

”We will have 350 cases of Eva Water 50cl (4,200 bottles) supplied by our latest partner.

Some of these will be used along the race routes at intervals of three kilometres from the starting point,” revealed Amodu who added that 30 cases of sparkling PET 35cl (360 bottles)-Coke, Fanta, Sprite will be used to refresh the VIPS at the main venue where race ends and prize presentation holds.’

Sefiya Ibrahim, the IAAF silver label Okpekpe road race theme song composer is out with a blockbuster hit single titled, Your Money.

The budding, Abia state-born afro-pop songstress and Computer Science graduate from the University of Lagos, teamed up with the King of new school dancehall, Sugarbana in the exhilarating song produced by Richie.

In the much-anticipated song, Sefiya, a certified graduate of the prestigious Nigerian Muson School of Music, where she majored in music dynamics and vocal training, sings about an unidentified lover whom she adores wholeheartedly but only due to his heavy pockets and the luxurious items he possesses. She sings “I’m in love with your body, No be my fault, Na your money.”

Her collaborator Sugarbana brings his usual highly-spirited delivery to the song, singing every bar in Patois which effortlessly compliments Safiya’s vocals and the instrumental considerably.

Directed by The Alien and WG Films of Capital Dreams, the video to ‘Your Money’; also released along with the audio, vividly captures the chemistry between Sefiya and Sugarbana, which is quite commendable; making ‘Your Money’ a definite TV and radio smash hit.

‘Your Money’ marks Safiya’s second musical effort of the year, following the release of her EP ‘Antidote’, which was released earlier in January.

She followed that up with the Okpekpe road race theme song in May which received commendations from many sports and music lovers including Godwin Obaseki, the executive Governor of Edo state during the pre-race dinner in Auchi.

Sefiya has promised music lovers and her fans more exciting materials before the year runs out.

One of 2018 Big Brother Naija reality TV show participant, Munirat Antoinette Lecky, a.k.a Anto has joined the cast of celebrity runners that will run at the historic IAAF silver label Okpekpe international 10km road race next weekend in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo state of Nigeria.

Anto, 28, will be running for charity at the event and the Edo state indigene has opted to raise awareness about the plight of the ‘Girl Child.’

Currently the director of the basketball division of Africa’s leading sports and entertainment company CBL, Anto holds two Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Sports Business Management. She also has a bachelor’s degree in sports and sports science and administration.

‘We are delighted to have Anto as one of our celebrity runners. We are particularly delighted that she will be running to raise awareness about the plight of the Girl Child, albeit the International Day of the Girl Child as declared by the United Nations is in October,’ said race’s spokesman Dare Esan.

‘Anto’s charity run will increase awareness of gender inequality faced by girls not only in Nigeria but worldwide based upon their gender, especially in areas such as access to education and protection from discrimination, violence against women and unfree child marriage among other things,’ Esan added and revealed the race does not encourage such discrimination.

‘At Okpekpe race we give equal opportunities to both men and women to compete, and the prize money for both are equal. We are happy to provide the platform for celebrities to raise awareness about some societal ills and diseases,’ he said.

‘Two years ago we had charity runs to raise awareness about breast cancer anchored by 2015 Miss Nigeria Pamela Peter-Vigboro Leesi in conjunction with Sebeccly Cancer Care and the orphanage by the We Care Trust, a pet project of Mrs Lara Oshiomhole, wife of former Executive Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole.

‘Last year we had 2016 Miss Nigeria Chioma Stephanie Obiadi race, to raise awareness about the Green-Girl project, aimed at empowering young women to become agents of a sustainable environment in Nigeria as well as Mrs Betsy Obaseki, the first lady of Edo state who also ran to raise awareness about cancer,’ explains Esan.

The Okpekpe international 10km road race powered by Pamodzi Sports Marketing is not all about running for the prize money.

Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn and Kenya’s Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei, will lead a truly world-class elite cast of athletes to the IAAF silver label sixth Okpekpe international 10km road race scheduled to hold next weekend in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo State of Nigeria.

Walelegn is the third fastest man over the 10km race so far this year, courtesy of the 27:37 seconds he ran last March to win the Laredo 10km road race on March 11 in Laredo, a town in the autonomous community of Cantabria located between the cities of Santander and Bilbao in Spain.

He will be challenged for the $20,000 top prize money for men by Kenyan trio of Timothy Kiplagat who came third (27:52) behind the Ethiopian at the Laredo race. Josphat Kiprono Menjo who came fifth (28:28) at the Valencia 10km road race in January and holds the fourth fastest time of all-time (27:04) and 2016 winner, Simon Cheprot who will be coming to chase history as the first man to win two Okpekpe titles.

For the women, Kenya’s Tuei will be the athlete to beat. She is the fastest woman over the distance so far this year courtesy the 30:57 seconds she ran to win the Valencia 10km road race in January. Her time is the 36th joint fastest on the all-time list, and she will be hoping to become the fourth Kenyan woman to win the title.

Tuei will be hotly challenged for the top prize of $20,000 on offer by compatriot Mary Waithera who won the Laredo 10km race last March with 31.48  seconds, the ninth fastest time in the world so far this year. Also in with a chance is 2016 winner, Pauline Njoku Wanjiku who, like Cheprot will be seeking a slice of Okpekpe history as the second woman to win two Okpekpe titles.

Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Getachew Gudeta and Bahrain’s Damaris Muthee Mutua are also two women that could challenge for the title. Gudeta was third in 2016 and would assume she is ripe to mount the podium as champions, while Mutua who ran 34:06 in Kenitra, Morrocco about two weeks ago, will fancy her chances of becoming the first woman from the Middle East to win the Okpekpe title.

”The quality of elite runners for this year’s race is the best so far, and this is easy to understand. As the first IAAF silver label race to be staged in West Africa, the quality must be very high and what we have done is to assemble gold level running men and women elite athletes for the race. This is a step higher than what the IAAF requires us to do,” said Esan.

Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn and Kenya’s Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei, will lead a truly world-class elite cast of athletes to the IAAF silver label sixth Okpekpe international 10km road race scheduled to hold next weekend in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo State of Nigeria.

Walelegn is the third fastest man over the 10km race so far this year, courtesy of the 27:37 seconds he ran last March to win the Laredo 10km road race on March 11 in Laredo, a town in the autonomous community of Cantabria located between the cities of Santander and Bilbao in Spain.

He will be challenged for the $20,000 top prize money for men by Kenyan trio of Timothy Kiplagat who came third (27:52) behind the Ethiopian at the Laredo race. Josphat Kiprono Menjo who came fifth (28:28) at the Valencia 10km road race in January and holds the fourth fastest time of all-time (27:04) and 2016 winner, Simon Cheprot who will be coming to chase history as the first man to win two Okpekpe titles.

For the women, Kenya’s Tuei will be the athlete to beat. She is the fastest woman over the distance so far this year courtesy the 30:57 seconds she ran to win the Valencia 10km road race in January. Her time is the 36th joint fastest on the all-time list, and she will be hoping to become the fourth Kenyan woman to win the title.

Tuei will be hotly challenged for the top prize of $20,000 on offer by compatriot Mary Waithera who won the Laredo 10km race last March with 31.48  seconds, the ninth fastest time in the world so far this year. Also in with a chance is 2016 winner, Pauline Njoku Wanjiku who, like Cheprot will be seeking a slice of Okpekpe history as the second woman to win two Okpekpe titles.

Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Getachew Gudeta and Bahrain’s Damaris Muthee Mutua are also two women that could challenge for the title. Gudeta was third in 2016 and would assume she is ripe to mount the podium as champions, while Mutua who ran 34:06 in Kenitra, Morrocco about two weeks ago, will fancy her chances of becoming the first woman from the Middle East to win the Okpekpe title.

”The quality of elite runners for this year’s race is the best so far, and this is easy to understand. As the first IAAF silver label race to be staged in West Africa, the quality must be very high and what we have done is to assemble gold level running men and women elite athletes for the race. This is a step higher than what the IAAF requires us to do,” said Esan.