By Okey Maduforo Awka.
As peace returns to the Ihiala local government area of Anambra state, the Uli Community has flagged off it’s Sports Festival tagged 2025 Fresh Air Ifechidelu Youth Cup .
Recall that all communities in Ihiala local government area of Anambra has been under the siege of gunmen for more than five years with scores of deaths and arson in those areas.
Just last month, the youths of those Communities had taken up the task of liberating their towns from the gunmen which led to the flag off of the sports festival in Uli town .
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, the sponsor of the festival Engr Kingsley Chidubem explained that the name Fresh Air denotes the new lease of life and the peace that has returned to the Community after over five years with f horror and sorrow in the land .
“You are aware of what our community has passed through in the hands of these miscreants and bunch of killers for over five years ago and today peace has returned to our Communities including Uli town and that is why we have chosen to hold this sports event to celebrate the return of peace in our great town Uli ”
Chidubem further explained that the festival is a youth football tournament for the boys and the girls in Uli town and it has a prize tag of N1 million and N800,000 .00 adding that it is an opportunity for football trainers to scout for young talents.
Chairman of the Anambra Football Association and former Supper Eagles international Gen Chikeluo Iloenyosi who was the Chairman of the occasion, the festival is one that would unite the youths in the community and creat the opportunity for them to express themselves and actualize their dreams.
“As the Chairman of the Anambra Football Association I am personally happy with the Uli Community for this and when you look at the faces of people and the joy that they share you can agree with me that peace has returned to this town ”
*I said that I must grace this occasion to tell the world that Anambra state is safe and that those days of gunmen captivity have gone because the Anambra state government and the youths of the Communities has sent those miscreants packing ‘ he said.
The Director of Communication for the sports festival Mr Enzor Uzo Nzeribe stated that the festival would last up to the Yuletide season adding that the grand finals would be a mass return for the people as it would be the first Christmas celebrated without fears or apprehension in the last five years.
“The people of Uli are peace loving people and we have liberated our town from the gunmen and what other way can we celebrate this than the youth sports festival? ”
“There would be other activities towards the end of the festival and we urge our kits and kin to return home because Uli and indeed the entire Ihiala local government area has been liberated ” he noted.
