A member of Calabar Golf Club, Mr. Raymond Ovat has emerged winner of the late Pastor Ekpeyong Ita’s inaugural golf tournament organized by deceased son, Mr. Nyoiita Ekpeyong, to immortalized his late father, who was retired police officer.
The club also named hole 5 after late pastor Ekpeyong Ita (late retired police officer) in order to immortalize him for sponsoring the Obong of Càlabar’s Golf Tournament when he was alive.
The tournament tagged late pastor Ekpeyong Ita golf kitty attracted over one hundred golfers across the country to honour the late police officer who is father to one of the golfers and a member of Càlabar Golf Club, Mr. Nyoiita Ekpeyong.
At the flag-off ceremony, which took place at the Càlabar Golf Course, Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu who is also a member of club, assured golfers of facilities up grade to international standard to enable the club host bigger tournament that would attract investors into the state.
Represented by the state commissioner for sports development, Mrs. Agnes Atsu, he said approval has been been given for constitution of a committee that would work towards facilities upgrade, stressing that members of the committee would be drawn among golfers to think on what to be done to lift the club up.
In his remarks, Càlabar Golf Club captain, Major General Ahmed Sabo lauded the state governor, saying the Calabar Golf Club had been neglected in the past eight years, and thanked the family of late pastor Ekpenyong Ita for sponsoring the tournament that attracted golfers across the different geo-polical zones of the nation.
” I want to thank the family of late pastor Ekpenyong Ita for putting up this tournament that has attracted golfers from every part of the country.
“I am told it is going to be an annual competition, this is the maiden event and I believe subsequent tournament will be better, I thank the family for rejuvenating golf in Calabar,” Sabo maintained.
Reacting , Mr Nyoki Ita, head of pastor Ekpenyong Ita’s family who is also a golfer said, “We are putting up this memorial golf tournament to celebrate and immortalize our late father who was also a golfer and had sponsored the Obong of Calabar golf tournament on two occasions.”
He assured that the tournament which will be an annual competition will be bigger and stronger than the maiden edition.