Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), leader of the 7th Senate, sponsored a football competition in his neighbourhood of Asari Eso in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, as part of his community outreach initiative.
The Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba Football Tournament took place from December 10 to December 20, 2022, and lasted ten days.
It took place on a football practice field next to Ndoma-house, Egba's which he had offered to the neighbourhood kids for this use.
The event included young people organised into several teams from both inside and beyond the Asari Eso neighbourhood.
Speaking during the match between Team France and Team Nigeria, Senator Ndoma-Egba, a former chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, praised the passion and sportsmanship displayed by all the participants in the soccer festival.
He further added: “You have all vindicated me in the way and manner you have carried on throughout the duration of this tournament.
“I am impressed with your attitude and our objectives, which include keeping you united and gainfully occupied while looking out for exceptional talents from amongst you have been substantially achieved.”
The Senator also promised that subsequent editions of the tournament will be bigger and better organized as the maiden edition will serve as a test run.
He said all the shortcomings have been noted and will be improved upon next year.
He donated a trophy and a cash prize of N100,000 to the winners.
He further donated the sum of N50,000 to the second-placed team, while the referees went home with N20,000.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the organising committee, Michael Agi, expressed the gratitude of the entire youths of the neighbourhood to Ndoma-Egba for his gesture in sponsoring the tournament.
Agi recalled that when they brought the proposal to the Senator, he had promptly approved all their requests and the success recorded was heartwarming to all concerned.
He added that the youths were already looking forward to the next edition of the competition and expressed their willingness to always partner with Ndoma-Egba for the overall good of the Asari Eso neighbourhood.
Ndoma-Egba, seen by his admirers as a distinguished politician with an innate sense of compassion, facilitated and attracted numerous projects/empowerment programmes to his constituency and sponsored several bills and motions that were meant to address issues germane to national development, in his time at the National Assembly.
Even after leaving the Senate since 2015 where he ably represented the people of Cross River Central Senatorial District, the ex-parliamentarian, a stalwart of All Progressives Congress, has continued to offer service to humanity and partake in activities geared towards nation building.