The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Saturday, came tops on the medals table, to win the fourth edition of the just concluded One Service One Medal (OSOM) Games, in Abuja.
The NSCDC hauled a total of 10 gold, eight silver and seven bronze to emerge champions, while the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) won nine gold, 13 silver, seven bronze to finish second, and the Federal Fire Service (FFS) with four gold, two silver and four bronze medals clinched third place.
Awwal Ibrahim, the NSCDC Director of Sports, expressed joy at his team’s victory, adding that discipline and hard work were key to their success at this year’s edition of the games.
“Coming into this competition, we already knew who our strongest rivals were and we prepared ourselves very well, to make sure we give the defending champions a run for their money this time around.
“It wasn’t an easy feat, as you can see from the medals table, but we thank God for crowning our efforts with joy and making the NSCDC very proud.
“We also want to thank our CG Abdullahi Gana for his love and support shown to the entire NSCDC contingent to the Games. It was indeed a good motivation for the team and we hope to build on this success come the next edition,” he said.
Kayode Samuel, the NPF Team’s Sports psychologist, expressed shock at the result of the games, saying that there must have been some error during the compilation of the final results.
“I am surprised at the outcome of the games. Something must be wrong somewhere. Having said that, we have our own results which we also compiled and we will be challenging the outcome of the official result.
“We are going for a meeting with the officials right away where we shall be thrashing everything out and hopefully come out with something positive,” he said.
On the performance of the NPF athletes, Samuel noted that they gave a good account of themselves at this year’s Games, adding that they were and would always continue to strive to be the best.
“You know that the NPF has always been at the forefront of sports in this country, considering our achievements and past records. We are not resting on our oars, as we continue to strive to bring more glory to the country, both nationally and internationally.
“We give all glory first and foremost to God, then to our indefatigable athletes and the IGP Mohammed Adamu, who has been behind the team, supporting and encouraging us all the way,” he said.
Ibrahim Ismaila, the Director of Sports, FFS, on his part, thanked the organisers for putting up a good show, saying that he was satisfied with the organisation and outcome of this year’s Games.
“Sincerely, we came with the least contingent, but I am, however, very proud of my athletes who, in spite of all the challenges, still managed to finish third overall on the medals table.
“Having said that, we hope to come back strong in the next edition with more athletes so as to compete more favourably against the NSCDC and the NPF.
“We also thank our CG Ibrahim Liman, who himself, is a sports loving person. He encouraged us to come out here and put up a good fight and we are happy and proud that we didn’t disappoint him,” he said.
About 740 athletes, drawn from the Armed Forces and the paramilitary, took part in the Games, which featured 15 events, that included Athletics, Swimming, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Tug-of-War, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Chess, Squash, Scrabble, Golf, Tennis, Shooting, Table Tennis and Badminton.
The Games, which kicked off on Jan. 20, at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium and other centres in Abuja, came to an end on Saturday with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
