By Samson Obande, Lafia

As part of activities marking the 30th anniversary of the creation of Nasarawa State and Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, a native of Agbashi in Doma South Constituency, Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Isaiah Ose, has organized the Anosapu Nasarawa State Junior Badminton Tournament for players under 19 years.

The tournament was held on Thursday, 1st October, 2026, at the Lafia City Hall, Lafia.

Speaking at the event, Lt. Col. Isaiah, who was represented by Dr. Oliver Obuje of the Department of State Services, DSS, congratulated the Nasarawa State Government on attaining 30 years and Nigeria at 66.

He commended the administration of Governor Abdullahi Sule for his commitment to youth and sports development, noting that while much has been achieved especially in football, more attention is needed in other sports such as badminton.

The sponsor called on government to support sports promoters in the state to hunt for talents, groom the younger generation and make them useful to their communities and the state at large.

The one-day tournament featured six teams drawn from schools and security institutions, including Team Nigeria Air Force, Team Government Secondary School Maina, Hope Academy, Federal University of Lafia, FULafia, NAF Base Lafia, and Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia.

They competed in various categories including mixed doubles, male singles and female singles.

In the opening matches, Team NAF Base defeated Team FULafia 2-0 in the mixed doubles, with similar victories recorded in the male and female singles.

In an all-NAF final in the male category, Waleed Abdullahi defeated his teammate, Shaku Samuel, while in the female category, Akuanyi Everest and Comfort, both of NAF Base, defeated opponents from Hope Academy and Government Secondary School Maina 21-18 and 2-0 respectively.

At the end of the competition, Team NAF Base emerged overall champions.

They were presented with two rackets each, a sports bag, a trophy and a badminton net.

In a show of encouragement, the organizer also gifted every participating team two rackets each, a bag, a cup and a net to motivate them to develop interest in the game.

Goodwill messages came from the Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Moses Adikwu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Revenue Mobilization, Brigadier General Jaafaru Ebu, retired, member of the State Security Advisory Committee, Chairman Solid Miners Badminton Club, Sule Umar, and Chairman, Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, YSFON, Nasarawa State Chapter, Suleiman Usman, alongside its Secretary, Adamu Yusuf.

They commended Lt. Col. Ose for the initiative and pledged support for subsequent editions.

Highpoint of the event was the donation of twenty-five thousand naira by Brigadier General Jaafaru Ebu, retired, and the Chairman of YSFON to the three youngest outstanding players of the tournament.

The Anosapu Junior Badminton Tournament is a grassroots sports development initiative sponsored by Lt. Col. Abraham Isaiah Ose, an indigene of Agbashi in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The tournament is aimed at discovering and nurturing young badminton talents at the secondary school and tertiary institution levels, promoting unity and commemorating Nasarawa State at 30 and Nigeria at 66.