The triumphant Team Nigeria Paralympic athletes on Sunday arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to a heroic welcome from hundreds of posters-bearing Nigerians to commend their podium performance at the just-concluded 2016 Rio Brazil Paralympic Games.
Before their arrival, it was endless drumming, singing and dancing as musical bands held the enthusiastic Nigerians waiting to get a glimpse of the victorious Paralympic team spellbound.
The crowd, which gathered as early as 2.30pm and waited patiently for hours on end for the arrival of the team, went into ecstatic mood and more dancing on sighting them, jostling and surging to have handshake or take picture with them.
Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has charged the Federal Government to reward the Paralympicians handsomely for bringing honours to sports-loving and making the country proud, stressing that they deserve the reward.
The former governor of Kwara State said though he cannot specifically make any recommendation on the kind of reward federal government should give them, the National Assembly will, however, invite, parley and host them very soon.
According to him: “I think they did very well considering the quantity and quality of medals they hailed at the Rio Games. We need to encourage them like we did to the able bodied athletes and should be our focus now.”
On his recommendation for reward, he said: “I cannot make any recommendation for now but as I said earlier, they deserve encouragement. We at the National Assembly will invite them, engage them to see what we can do for them. Definitely, there must be some form of reward because we should be proud of them and their achievements in making the country proud.”
Addressing the athletes, numbering 20, that shattered world and Paralympic records during a brief ceremony on arrival by 5.40pm, the Director Youth Development in the Ministry of Youth and Sport Development, Luka Jonathan Magset, who represented both the Minister and the Permanent Secretary still faraway in Rio, promised they will be given heroic welcome.
Magset said: |On behalf of my Minister, I want congratulate you for making the country. We are here with several other Nigerians to welcome you and thank you for putting Nigeria in the map of the world. At the opportune time we will host you