OAU NUGA Games to now hold in February

The 24th Nigeria University Games Association, NUGA, earlier scheduled to hold in 2013 will now hold from February 12 to 22 at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun.

A NUGA council member, Cecilia Arinye, disclosed this on Friday via telephone.

Ms. Arinye said that the Games, earlier scheduled for October 12 to 22, 2013, were postponed indefinitely due to the six-month strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

She said that the new date was to give hope to the student athletes and to reawaken the Games.

“It is good news that the impasse has ended. The athletes who had undergone preliminaries since June and July, will now be able to exhibit their skills at the competition. Some of them hope to use the event as a launching pad to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, so, staging the event in February before the Commonwealth Games will be an advantage,” she said.

She noted that, in the past, many student athletes had used the competition to get to the bigger stage in various sports, and that chances were still available for the upcoming ones.

Ms. Arinye, who is also the NUGA Zone F Co-ordinator, comprising the universities in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States, said that necessary logistics had been put in place to welcome contingents to the Games.

According to her, the host university was ready for the Games, having put in place structures and sporting facilities for the event.

She called on athletes to be law abiding and to make the best of the opportunities provided by the platform to launch themselves into world reckoning.

The last edition of the competition was held at the University of Benin in 2010.