The Governor of Ogun State Dapo Abiodun has appointed Chess Master and Guinness World Record Holder Tunde Onakoya the Sports Ambassador of the state.
Governor Abiodun hosted Onakoya on Thursday, April 25 at his residence, where he extolled the brilliance and competitive spirit of the chess king.
Onakoya will be responsible for organising the Ogun Chess Competition in the state, and his contributions will be painted in the sands of time through the “Tunde Onakoya Prize”.
The Governor’s words as quoted:
“I can see why you continue to be inspiration to many young people across the length and breath of this country. You have gone further by establishing a foundation called the ‘Chess in Slums Africa’ because you are determined to tell your story and encourage other children and get them out of the slums and give them hope and future.
“Today, we will be officially appointing you as our State Sports Ambassador. Coincidentally, Ogun State will be hosting the National Sports Festival in the next nine months or thereabouts and we are boasting that we are set to host the best National Sports Festival that has never been held in the history of this country and coincidentally, chess is one of the games that will feature in that event.
“I have decided that because of you and in your honour, we will begin an Ogun State Chess Competition across the length and breath of the state.
“Since you are now officially our Sports Ambassador and our Chess Ambassador, we will leave it to you to design that competition from the local government all the way to the state level.
“But we as your state, we will have a sponsor in the Tunde Onakoya Prize, for the winner of that competition.
News Central reports that Onakoya embarked on a record breaking chess competition to help out-of-school children in Nigeria and the rest of the continent, so that they can have a chance to acquire education.
Onakoya smashed the record for the longest chess marathon after playing unbeaten for more than 58 hours in Times Square, New York.
He returned to Nigeria to a hero’s welcome, and was hosted by the Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Tunde Onakoya is from Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.