The Out-gone General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Umar Musa has said that sports are a prerequisite for maintaining good and quality health amongst personnel of the Nigerian Army. He made the statement on 2 Feb 23 at Abakpa Military Cantonment while commissioning the newly constructed Basketball Court and the equipped Gymnasium.
General Umar Musa noted that his drive to upgrade the sporting facilities in the Cantonment was in tandem with achieving the Chief of Army Staff’s goal of aiding all personnel to achieve improved physical fitness for better performance on the job. He added that he has a personal passion for physical exercise and sports in general which has helped to improve his state of mind and general health. He further encouraged Officers and men in the Cantonment to make adequate use of the facilities to improve their physical fitness and maintain good and quality health.
Earlier in her remarks, the Assistant Director, of Physical Training, HQ 82 Division, Major Betty Evevakpor, expressed gratitude to the GOC for all the support and encouragement he gave to the unit which led to the successes achieved. She stated that the GOC did not just support her efforts, but that he went around the projects on daily basis to ensure that they were executed in good time and within the expected standard.
Similarly, the Coach of the civilian gymnasium team, Mr. Ralph Ugwu, also expressed gratitude to the GOC for the warm hand of friendship he had given to them since he took over as GOC. The quality of maintenance and provision of high-standard equipment at the gymnasium was evidence of the GOC’S efficiency and love for sports, he said.
High points of the commissioning were the test running of the treadmills and other equipment by the GOC and other Senior Officers.