Coordinator of the Imo State Chapter of the National Youth Development Project (NYDP), Onochie Okanu, says the NYDP Peace Cup, billed to kick off across the six geopolitical zones next month, will help restore peace in the Eastern region. The competition will be unveiled in Abuja on May 25.
Speaking during the state chapter’s executive meeting at the Concorde Hotel, Owerri at the weekend, Okanu reiterated that the Peace Cup Football tournament is designed as a national tool for promoting peace in the country, adding that it would also be used to ensure peaceful coexistence among Imo indigenes within their locality.
“I am sure that peace will be adequately restored in Imo State, which recently recorded cases of attacks and bloodbath. I believe the Peace Cup will help douse the tension and restore hope to the Youths.
“Imo is a state known for producing renowned sports men and women that have done the nation proud in global and continental sporting events… there is no reason why the NYDP Peace Cup, which is expected to keep the 774 local councils in the country busy, will not yield result in the state,” he said.
He said the Imo State chapter’s NYDP executive would partner with relevant stakeholders in the state, including the state government.
“This is to ensure that the state produces a formidable football team that will fly its flag when the NYDP Peace Cup kicks off next month.
“With strong partnership with the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), two teams will emerge from each of the 27 councils in Imo State, before a final play off with a team expected to emerge from each of the councils. The 27 football teams representing each council will now slug it out in a second-phase football tournament where an official team that will represent the state at zonal championship will emerge.”
Okanu disclosed that the NYDP Peace Cup would be unveiled on May 25 in Abuja, while the football matches would commence in June at the states levels.