Ortom lauds Chinese football club for launching academy in Benue.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom praises Galaxy Football China for its effort in growing youth football in Benue State.

Ortom showered this encomium on Thursday when the management of the organization launched Benue branch of its Football Academy in Makurdi.

The governor who was represented by the State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Pastor Comr Ojotu Ojema thanked the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of organization, Austine Akpehe for the initiative aimed at identifying, grooming talented youth footballers who could be future players of the Nigeria National teams and make waves in world football in the near future.

The governor also encouraged the players of the academy to be disciplined, focused and committed to their responsibilities in order to make it at the end of their training, promising his total support for youth football and general sports development in Benue State.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Football Academy China and former Nigerian football international, Austine Akpehe thanked Governor Ortom and other invited guests for coming despite their tight schedules, saying the primary reason for the establishment of the academy was to give back to Benue part of what the state had done for him during his football career. He promised that the academy would identify raw talents from the state and nurture them to stardom.

Also speaking, the Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon Titus Uba, ably represented by the Chairman, Benue State House of Assembly Service Commission, Hon Sylvester Atachin, said the state assembly is youth friendly and would continue to support and give an accelerated hearing to any law geared towards supporting youth football in the state, adding that there was no better time to establish such important academy than now, considering the growing level of youth restiveness, especially in Sankera and other parts of the state.

Earlier in his welcoming address, the chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Pleasure Travels, Dr Paul Ubwa thanked Mr Akpehe for establishing such a laudable project which could be of great benefit to Benue youths, urging Benue people to support the academy.

Upcoming music artists were also on ground to thrill the guests to make the epoch making event a memorable one.