The Acting Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has called upon Guinness Nigeria Plc to lend their support and expertise in driving the growth of sports in the State.
During a courtesy visit to the Government House in Benin City, led by Managing Director Baker Magunda, the management of Guinness Nigeria Plc was commended for their remarkable contributions to other sectors, particularly job creation.
Inspiringly, Shaibu urged the Guinness Nigeria team to extend their support to the realm of sports, recognizing it as a powerful tool for engaging youths and addressing unemployment and youth restiveness.
Shaibu expressed his gratitude for Guinness Nigeria’s belief in the State and their substantial investments, highlighting the positive impact they have already made through scholarship schemes and community service.
He said: “I express my sincere thanks to Guinness for its unwavering belief in our state and dedication to it, which has allowed them to invest all of its capital here. Hearing about your community service and scholarship programs makes me happy as well.
“We would want your sponsorship for the majority of our programs, particularly the sports-related ones. As you can see, interacting with young people is the simplest method to address their restlessness and unemployment.
“We used data from sports and the amount of young people we can pull out of the labor force. After reviewing every component, which included football, table tennis, lawn tennis, and 15 other sports altogether, we found that, should State-sponsored leagues be implemented for these 15 athletic events, around 6,500 young men and women would be eliminated from direct participation in these games.”
Shaibu added: “We also took a close look at the workforce—an additional 2,500 individuals—who will maintain these games. The coaches and assistant coaches are those people. Next, we took a look at the technical teams, people who would be working on the corridors, and other individuals.
“Just to have this State league alone, you will discover we can have a minimum of 20,000 young men and women, minus the service personnel that will be there.
“If we get 20000 direct jobs, just in sports, what of the multiplier effect – those that will be selling some of these products, your products that are associated with sports, the merchandise sales etc?
“When you check the multiplier effects, you will discover that, not only will the economy grow, but you would have created jobs, direct and indirect jobs for almost 50,000 people just from creating State-sponsored leagues. So we would like to have Guinness on board.”
The Acting Governor informed his guests that the State government is bringing back lawn tennis, “We are bringing back one of our iconic sports that gave this State a very wide label name in the whole world – Ogbe Hard Court.
“We would like Guinness to take advantage of the branded Ogbe Hard Court to also brand Guinness, and we have a full package.
“You can brand the entire court with Guinness and the different products; and all the names that we have put there; we can change it to Guinness just to let you have a platinum sponsorship. Ogbe Hard Court is not just a national event, it is an international event.
“In earnest, we are starting these 15 sports from January next year. We are commencing the flashy programs in all the 15 sports. So I would like you to take that to your management, and have it in your program for next year.”
He restated that the “Our cardinal focus is to make sure that the private sector drives Edo State’s economy, especially when you have a private sector man as Governor.
“So you should know that the thinking of the government now is to reposition the government to do its work; its purpose is to create an environment for businesses to thrive, and that’s what we have been doing for the past five years, and we will continue to do that.”
In response, the Guinness Managing Director shared the purpose of their visit, highlighting the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts, including scholarship schemes, water and environmental programs, clean energy initiatives, and the introduction of their latest product, Captain Morgan.
