Kick-off of NYSC Sports and Cultural Festival finale
The grand finale of the 2016/2017 NYSC Sports and Cultural Festival kick-off today in Abuja.
Participant are drawn from thirty-one states and the FCT after qualifying in various events in the zonal preliminaries held in four centres across the country.
The celebration features football, volleyball and athletics in the sports segment while the cultural segment features dance, drama and comedy.
Declaring the event open at the Old Parade Ground, Garki, Abuja, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, urged all contingents to compete in an atmosphere of friendship and fair play.
Dalung also urged the participating Corps members to harness their innate potentials to showcase their abilities not only to win medals, but also to establish strings of friendship.
Speaking on the theme,"Harnessing Youth Potentials for Sustainable Development," the Minister added that Corps members are the future leaders of the country, hence, more is expected from them through patriotism.
"As you use this veritable platform to showcase your innate abilities and win, bear in mind that the interest of your country comes first. You are the future of our great country and therefore a lot is expected from you.
"I charge you to make good use of the unique opportunity provided by these competitions to chart a new prosperous course for not only yourselves but the country at large," Dalung said.
Earlier in his welcome address, the NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure, said the festival serves as a tool for cultural integration among the Corps members.
He added that previous editions of the festival had produced some members of the National team and many up coming Nollywood artists.
"I therefore call on all corporate entities, government agencies and NGOs to explore the possibility of taking up the sponsorship of the festival wholly or even in part", Kazaure said.
