…As Edo Hosts Over 3,000 Athletes, Officials
By Edward Oseghe
The Managing Consultant of Dunamis Icon Limited, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, has announced zero tolerance for age falsification and doping ahead of the 2026 Niger Delta Sports Festival in Benin City, as organisers move to restore integrity and grassroots focus to the Games.
Ikpokpo made the declaration on Wednesday during an interactive session with members of the Edo State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) at the Media Centre of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
He commended SWAN and other media professionals for their sustained support for sports development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria, noting that Edo State earned the right to host the second edition of the Games, also known as the Niger Delta Games, following the successful maiden event in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
According to him, organisers are determined to surpass the standards set at the inaugural edition.
“The Niger Delta region has consistently produced some of Nigeria’s finest athletes. Our nine states are richly endowed with sporting talents, and the Games remain a platform to discover, nurture and project these talents to the national and international stage,” Ikpokpo said.
He confirmed that over 3,000 athletes and officials from the nine oil-producing states would participate, with each state presenting about 320 athletes, including officials and support personnel.
The festival, which will feature 17 sports alongside a cultural night, is sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and privately driven by Dunamis Icon Limited.
“Beyond sports, the festival will also celebrate arts and culture,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the event would revive the Niger Delta sporting spirit and restore hope among young people by creating sustainable pathways in sports.
Ikpokpo lamented the decline of grassroots sports development in the Niger Delta, blaming it on the abandonment of talent discovery for the poaching of athletes by states.
“Many states have abandoned grassroots development for the buying and poaching of athletes. This is unacceptable. Every community across the Niger Delta has enormous potential that must be nurtured. That was the foundation upon which this festival was conceived,” he stated.
He assured that strict measures would be enforced to curb age cheating, doping and athlete poaching, stressing the need to return to school sports as the primary channel for talent discovery.
“We must go back to school sports to discover young talents. Sports has not become a major money spinner in Nigeria because of the way it is being managed. There is a need to elevate the conversation and administration of sports in the country,” Ikpokpo added.
The former Chairman of Isoko West Local Government Area of Delta State also urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to look beyond Uyo for international fixtures and consider the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, which he described as comparable in standard.
He disclosed that the festival would run from February 20 to 27, 2026, with athletes expected to arrive in Benin City on February 19, in line with an official travel advisory to be issued to participating states.
According to him, the opening ceremony will take place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on February 20 at 5:00 p.m.
Ikpokpo added that organisers are working closely with the Edo State Sports Commission, led by Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, to upgrade and fine-tune key sporting facilities ahead of the Games, noting that the local government trials will commence next week, followed by the state trials the week after.
In a major policy shift, Ikpokpo revealed that the age limit for athletes had been reduced from 25 years in the last edition to 20 years, insisting that participants must be bona fide indigenes of their states.
“We want no cheats—neither age cheats nor drug cheats. Ideally, the active lifespan of an athlete is between 18 and 30 years. When athletes get older, falsification and drug use begin just to keep up, and we are firmly against this,” he warned.
He further attributed the decline in grassroots sports to the collapse of structured scouting systems at community and school levels.
“There are talents in the local governments, so why cheat? There was a time when coaches went into communities to discover talents. When that stopped, grassroots development also stopped,” he added.
Ikpokpo maintained that the festival is built on genuine grassroots talent discovery, stressing that organisers are determined to restore credibility and create sustainable sporting pathways for young people across the Niger Delta.
