By: Kate Obi/Kaduna
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the Ministry of Interior Games (MIGA) will foster unity and harmony among the services under the ministry.
The President who stated this in his address at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Edition of Ministry of Interiorized Games 2018 at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna charged the competitors to give their best and promote unity.
Represented by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, President Buhari opined that MIGA Games is aimed at unearthing new talents for team Nigeria and promise to do all possible to make the Games a success.
“As we prepare for the 2019 general elections, in February and March, it is important that peace and unity be our watchword. We appreciate the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and other security agencies, they have done a lot to ensure peace in Kaduna state,” the President added.
In his speech, the Minister of Interior, Retried General Abdulrahman Dambazau noted that the Games is in line with the commitment of President Buhari’s administration to promote harmony and collaboration among the services.
“The Games will enable the services to share ideas and relate warmly on issues around us to impact positively on internal security,” he said, adding that 1,724 athletes will compete for 218 gold, 218 silver and 242 bronze medals.
The 2018 MIGA games features the Nigerian Police, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, the Nigeria Prisons Service, Federal Fire Service and the Ministry of Interior.
The Games will feature 13 events namely; athletics, badminton, basketball, football, handball, karate, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, tug of war and volleyball. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp are the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition of the Games in Kaduna.
The objectives of the Games include; foster intra and inter-services relationship and reinforce the relationship between personnel of the Services and the Civil Servants in the main Ministry, identify and select athletes that would represent the Services/Ministry in national and international competitions.
Others are; to project the Services/Ministry as major contributors to sports development in the country, encourage mass participation in sports to sustain the physical and mental fitness of personnel and to enhance personnel welfare and bridge communication gap with the leadership of the Services and general public.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of various military and paramilitary chiefs, ex-Director General of National Sports Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, Kaduna state Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr Daniel Danauta, among others.
