Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has appointed Nigerian chess player and coach Tunde Onakoya as the Sports Ambassador of the State for his world record-breaking chess marathon campaign at Times Square in New York.
Abiodun revealed this on Thursday, when he received Onakoya in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. He also made public the beginning of the state chess competition to be held in all parts of the state in honour of Onakoya.
The governor, who was impressed with the attainment of the National Chess Master at the global stage, affirmed that this could not have been possible without resilience and hard work.
His words were, I can see why you continue to be an inspiration to many youths across the length and breadth of this country. You have gone further by setting up a foundation called ‘Chess in Slums Africa’ because you are determined to tell your story, motivate other children, get them out of the slums, and give them hope and a future.
On this day, we will be legally appointing you as our state sports ambassador.
Interestingly, Ogun State will be hosting the National Sports Festival in the next nine months, and we are bragging that we are ready to host the best National Sports Festival that has ever been held in the history of this country, and coincidentally, chess is one of the games that will feature in that event.
