ISRAEL TAIWO
Judokas from all over the country will be coming to Kogi state in their numbers to feature in the Governor Yahaya Bello U-17 Judo Championships.
The grassroots competition, which will hold at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, will see judokas from the North Central region of the country and clubs across Nigeria fighting for honours from 28-30 September, 2017.
Facilitator and organiser of the competition, Alhaji Damisa Suleiman, representative of North Central Zone in the board of Nigeria Judo Federation, NJF, told PM EXPRESS in an exclusive chat that the zonal Championship is being staged not only to celebrate Gov Bello but to also to discover budding young talent for the sport of Judo in Nigeria.
He said: “We are mobilising all resources for the competition as our Chief Host, His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello is a man who has the youth in his heart and more importantly, he believes in youth empowerment. That is the reason we are organising this competition in his honour, ” Alhaji Suleiman said.
He said that the judokas will compete in seven weight categories for both boys and girls events. The boys will compete in 25kg, 36kg, 44kg, 57kg, 70kg and 90kg, while the girls will fight in 25kg, 36kg, 46kg, 56kg, 70kg and 90kg weights.
The championship has received support from organisations such as Grand Cereal Oil Limited, Joseph, Plateau State, ESS Project Concept Limited, Lokoja, Royal Kitchen, Lokoja, ESS Farm Centre, HRP Farm Limited, Kaduna, Kogi Local Government and Lokoja Local Government.