Immediate past Governor of Edo state Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has hailed his successor Godwin Obaseki for continuing the tradition of hosting the IAAF Bronze Label Okpekpe international 10km road race.
Oshiomhole,who is the grand patron of the race believes Governor Obaseki should be appreciated and congratulated for following up on a good programme.
”The point I want to amplify is that we should all appreciate and congratulate Governor Obaseki for sustaining the tradition because there were a number of people who thought that once Comrade Oshiomhole was out of office,Okpekpe 10km road race would be out of the way.What Governor Obaseki has done by coming here and by his own participation as a runner is to give affirmative action to our commitment to continue with the things that are good.I am happy the race has already oulived my tenure as Governor,”said Comrade Oshiomhole on the sidelines of the fifth edition of the race held last Saturday in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo state.
Oshiomhole insists one of the best things that happened during his tenure was the staging of the Okpekpe race which not only brought the rusty Okpekpe clan and the entire North Ibie on the map of the world,but also for its health benefit.
Tag: Okpekpe race:
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Oshiomhole hails Obaseki for sustaining Okpekpe Race
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Charity Partners unveiled for 4th Okpekpe race
Organisers of the IAAF Bronze Label Okpekpe international 10km road race have unveiled three Charity Partners for the fourth edition of the race which holds this Saturday in Okpekpe near Auchi,Edo state.
Spokesman for the race Dare Esan said that the first Charity run will be for breast cancer which will be anchored by Miss Nigeria in conjunction with Sebeccly Cancer Care.
”Sebeccly Cancer Care is dedicated to cancer prevention and committed to helping more women survive breast cancer in Nigeria.They want to use the Okpekpe 10km road race to raise awareness about the causes and prevention of breast cancer as well as screen the women of Okpekpe and its environs for breast cancer,” said Esan.
The second Charity will be for the orphanage by We Care Trust which is a pet project of Mrs Lara Oshiomhole, wife of the Executive Governor of Edo state.
“Mrs Oshiomhole is so passionate about children in the orphanages and has partnered with us to let people know their plight as well as raise funds for them while the third charity run will be for safer roads and fuller lives by the Federal Road Safety Commission,” further said Esan who revealed Saturday’s race is not about the prize money.
“The Okpekpe international 10km road race is not all about running for the prize money. All over the world people have seen the power of sport to raise funds and awareness about any project or cause and road running has been a very veritable vehicle for achieving this purpose,” said Esan.
“This year we are introducing another dimension to the race as many of the runners will be racing for humanity. While the elite athletes will traditionally be running for the money, others will be running for the charity of their choice to promote the awareness about breast cancer, about children in the orphanages who need our care and trust and of course about our roads which we want to maker safer,” said Esan who added that opting to run a race for a charity is a fantastically rewarding experience.
“Apart from the three charities offering guaranteed entries to run in the race on Saturday,each charity also offers their own benefits to their fundraisers.
“A charity that benefits enormously from runners efforts is Hope for Children. Hope raises about £1m per annum but nearly £100,000 of that comes from runners at the Edinburgh Marathon. The charity supports 300 projects around the world. This is the culture we want to start building with the Okpekpe international 10km road race.”
Esan has thus called on potential runners who hitherto lack the motivation to run to come out there at Okpekpe and run for their chosen charity, raise awareness and funds for it and get fit.
“Don’t underestimate the ‘feel good’ factor if you’re raising funds for a good cause. The idea that you’re helping people less fortunate than yourself or supporting a worthwhile service can have a powerful effect on your sense of self-worth. And it will put a little extra petrol in your engine for that challenging last mile or so,” added Esan.
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OKPEKPE RACE: ELAMAH ADVOCATES PRIZE AWARD FOR VIP RUNNERS
From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin oSeni Elamah, the Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Board, yesterday advocated for prize awards for Very Important Personality (VIP) athletes that will be participating in the Okpekpe International 10 Kilometres Road Race, billed for Saturday, 16th May, 2015.
He also stressed the need to encourage indigenous participants at the event.
Elamah gave kudos to the organisers of the annual Okpekpe Race for their foresight.
“Indigenous participants in the event should be encouraged.
“Yes, I was an active participant in the last edition of the Okpekpe International Road Race, but I must confess that I was not encouraged by the fact that there was no incentive for some categories of participants.
“No trophy was awarded to my category of participation which is VIP. I actually participated because of my love for fitness. I have a gym and I work out regularly at the stadium.
“So, I am not a stranger to keeping fit. Most importantly, my participation has to do with my desire to be healthy.
” Another thing is that my participation in the race was beneficial in making me appreciate the level of perfection by the engineers who constructed the road (Okpekpe), whose source of funds was partly generated through internally generated revenue.
“With the result of the work done on the road, I am impressed that tax payers have value for their money,” he stated.
‘The tax man’, as he’s popularly called, stressed that nothing is coming directly to the government coffers from the hosting of the competition.
“Major revenue to the government coffers from the competition is not quantifiable, but the multiplier effect is appreciable.
“People who are in the hospitality business, for instance, declare profit from which they pay tax to government purse at the end of the competition.”
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Okpekpe Race: Kenya, Ethiopia emerge winners Oshiomhole makes 10kms
Moses Masai of Kenya yesterday emerged the overall winner of the median edition of Okpekpe International 10 kilometres road race with a time of 29: 39.
He carted away the first prize money of 25, 000 dollars as the winner of the first Okpekpe10 km international road race.
Another Kenya national and Uganda, Yusuf Bitwott and Timothy Troitich came second and third positions with a time of 29.44sec and 29.50 respectively.
In the women category, Kenya’s Rono Georgina won the women prize money with a time of 33.01.
The second and third prize money of 20, 000 and 10, 000 dollars went to Ethiopians’ Deko Ahmed and Sofia Shemsu with a time of 34.31m and 36.11m respectively.
Adams Oshiomole, Edo state governor, completed the 10km race with a time of 59.03 and overall 131st position in the race.
Due to the inequality in the prize money for the women, the governor increased it by 10, 000 dollars, the second position was also increased by 5, 000 dollars and third position 1, 000 dollars respectively.
Nigeria’s Ismaila Sadjo from Cross Rivers state returned seventh overall and first Nigerian with 31.06, Adamu Shehu Muazu was the second Nigerian and eight overall with 32.02 while Gideon Goyet returned third with a time of 32.29 for the men category.
Deborah Pam from Plateau state was the first Nigerian in the female category and fifth overall with the time of 37.34, Janet Dung was the second and returned sixth overall with 38.24, Aminat Olowora came third and eight overall positions with 39.05. m.
The Comrade governor has promised to make the Okpekpe 10 km international road race an annual event.
The governor remarked after the first Okpekpe international raid race that attracted athletes from different parts of African continent.
Oshiomhole said the purpose of Okpekpe road race was to use sport to bring urban life to the rural people.
According to him, Okpekpe road race has not only united Africans, but has succeeded in connecting the urban people with the rural ones.
While bemoaning the fortune of Nigeria in sports, the governor challenged the Minister of Youths and Sports, Bolaji Abdulahi who was present at the event to use his leadership as the head of sport to revive the country’s glory in sports.
In his address, the minister said his office was already into discussion with the Athlete Federation Nigeria to make the event an annual one.
Commenting on the race, the minister said the people of Okpekpe have been given hope of survival.
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Okpekpe race: organisers engage indigenes, Police, Para-military for security
No fewer than 100 volunteers and security personnel, including the Police and the Para-military, have been engaged by the organisers of the maiden Okpekpe 10km International Road Race, an official said on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 2,000 athletes have registered for the one-day event scheduled for May 4 in the Etsako-East Local Government of Edo.
Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, Chairman, Main Organising Committee (MOC), told NAN in Lagos that the volunteers included indigenes, because security should start with them.
“Security starts with the indigenes because they know the environment, more than any other person; they know who is who, among them.
“Security personnel like the Police and the Para-military will also be engaged, they will all be put in strategic positions, to ensure maximum protection of lives during the race,’’ he said.
Nesiama said the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) would be in charge of officiating, as it is experienced enough to do so.
“We are handling the event on our own, we are experienced enough to handle events like this because we have been handling the Obudu Mountain Race which is tougher than this. I see no reason why we will not be able to do this without foreign officials. We will be objective in our approach and the results.
“The AFN has competent officials who will officiate, they have undergone a series of trainings before now,’’ he said.
The race will start and end in Okpekpe Village in the Etsako-East Local Government Area, with participants running through hills and valleys. The winner in the male category will receive 25,000 dollars, the first runner-up 15,000 dollars and the second runner-up 10,000 dollars.
The prize money for the women category winner is 10, 000 dollars for the winner, the second will get 7, 000 dollars and third placed will receive 5,000 dollars.