Bayelsa state Governor Douye Diri yesterday announced a reward package for the state’s sportsmen and women that participated in different competitions recently.

Blessing Oborodudu, the Olympic silver medalist who also won gold in wrestling at the commonwealth Games, and sprinter Tima Godbless who won gold in the 4x100 relay for Nigeria at the African Senior Athletics Championship in Mauritius, were among recipients of the governor’s gesture.

Others were teenage table tennis sensation, Samuel Boboye who won two gold medals for Nigeria in the Africa U-19 championship in Tunisia as well as Bayelsa Queens, winners of the African Female Champions League WAFU Zone B tournament in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

Receiving the athletes and footballers inside the Executive Council chambers of the Government House in Yenagoa, Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, quoted the Governor in a statement as saying that the people of Bayelsa could hold their heads high because of the sterling performances of the sportsmen and women and urged them to continue on the path of success.

He noted that by their performance, they had placed Bayelsa prominently on the global map of sports, saying the state would reap rich rewards from their effort if they aimed for more success.

Diri assured the people that his administration would continue to play its part in supporting sportsmen and women to enable them to bring more laurels to the state.