The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Saturday, said that any able-bodied person without sports in his or her life was incomplete.
The Minister made the remarks in Abuja while declaring open Table-Tennis and Badminton competitions organised by journalists covering the Senate under the aegis of the Senate Press Corps.
Dare, who was represented by former Olympic medalist, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, said that sports in whatever form was a required exercise for the physical fitness of anybody.
“The importance of sports cannot be overemphasised as it is a vital part of our lives and overall wellness of any human being.
“A wholesome person is not complete without the physical fitness, sports, or regular exercise injected into routine,” he said.
The minister commended the Senate Press Corps for adding sports into its Press Week events this year and urged the organisers to sustain the momentum.
“It is heartwarming that you have added the sports dimension to your yearly Press Week.
“This will no doubt help in keeping your members physically fit, healthy and invariably required sound mind needed for their jobs as watchdogs of the society, analysts and dissectors of contemporary national issues,” he said.
A trophy was presented to the winner of the Badminton competition, Huram Lokodi, by the minister.
Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Emmanuel Ogbeche, and Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association, FCT Chapter, Moses Ebute, presented trophies to the winners of the table tennis competition.
Ignitius Nkwoh of the Nigerian Television Authority won the table-tennis competition, while Deji Elumoye of ThisDay Newspaper and Mustapha Eniseyin of MITV settled for the silver and bronze medals.
Earlier, members of the Corps, led by its Chairman, James Itodo of Radio Nigeria (Abuja Operations), participated in a jogging exercise and road walk for physical fitness.
NAN
