The Governor Douye Diri National Scrabble Classic has ended in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital with Enoch Nwali, a university of Lagos undergraduate, again winning the Masters category of the competition.
Nwali, who was the defending champion, defeated 39 other contestants in his category to take home the star prize of N750,000 in the three-day scrabble championship, which had in attendance 240 registered players from across Nigeria.
A Bayelsan, Doubara Enai, emerged champion of the Intermediate category while his contemporary, Theophilus Nimibo, came top in the Opens, and former national champion, Doku Esan, picked the Veterans title.
A student of the Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State, Pereowei Edidie, won in the students' category.
In his remarks, the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, assured that the state government will give scrabble the pride of place it deserves, saying the state is now the hub of sports in Nigeria.
Represented by the Director of Sports in the Ministry of Sports, Mr. Braveman Wodi, the governor said his administration would do more to develop scrabble and other sports.
He remarked that youths were crucial to the development of any society and that they would continue to be positively engaged through sports.
While thanking participants at this year's edition, he assured that season five would be bigger and better.
He said: "We have had a good time, but whatever has a beginning must have an end. As a government, we want to assure you that scrabble will be given the pride of place it deserves.
"Youths are crucial to the development of any society. That is why we are engaging them through sports.”
Also, President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), Chief Olobatoke Aka, who congratulated Governor Diri on his victory at the Supreme Court, commended him for his developmental strides, saying Bayelsa was making tremendous progress under him.
He expressed appreciation to the governor for sponsoring the championship in the last four years, saying the scrabble family in Nigeria will remain grateful to him.
Aka advocated the inclusion of scrabble in the curriculum of schools in Nigeria, saying it will not only improve the spelling ability of students but will also help professional scrabble players earn money.
Also speaking, chairman of the Bayelsa State Scrabble Association, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said this edition was special as it had more participants with increased prize money, stressing that it came at a time the state was celebrating the Supreme Court victory of the governor.
While thanking the NSF for its support as well as Governor Diri for consistently sponsoring the national classic, Alabrah, who is also the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, advocated for the inclusion of scrabble in the Olympics, saying it will earn Nigeria medals.
The event witnessed the launch of a book titled: “Pyramid - How to play Scrabble like a Pro,” authored by Mr. Ben Quickpen, who came sixth in the Masters category while his contemporaries, Precious Igali and Vincent Munanyo, placed second and ninth, respectively.
