The Commissioning of a project at the Access Bank/Fifth Chukker Maraban Jos Primary School by Kaduna State government, the sponsor’s additional N10 million donation, as well as Fifth Chukker and Jos Malcomines teams victories, were the highlights of the just concluded 2022 UNICEF Charity Shield Polo tournament.
According to the sponsors, the donation, presented to the Headmaster of the School at the Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Club in Kaduna, was reaffirmation of Access Bank’s commitment to the promotion of education in the state and support of UNICEF’s campaign against HIV/AIDS pandemic among Nigerian children.
“We have been working in Kaduna, in collaboration with Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Resort and UNICEF to elevate quality of lives. We need to do more in support of these orphans and vulnerable children to enable them look forward to a better tomorrow,” Regional Manager of Access Bank, Buddy Alete- Omoni, said.
Wife of Kaduna State Governor and UNICEF Ambassador to the 60 classroom school project, Hajia Ummi Nasir el-Rufai, who cut the tape for the commencement of school activities, urged parents to make good use of the ultra modern educational facility targeted at removing millions of out of school children from the streets to a brighter future.
“I call on parents, particularly mothers, to stop their children from street trading, begging and other exploitative vices in rural and urban areas across the state and ensure their education in this school funded by the Charity Shield Polo platform partners,” el-Rufai pleaded as the exciting children marched to their classrooms to the admiration of dignitaries.
Revered as one of the biggest fundraising platforms in Africa, the UNICEF polo tournament that featured over 10 teams climaxed with flourish in a fiercely fought final game where Fifth Chukker team held Jos Malcomines 8-8 in the final game, to retain the event’s biggest prize, the Charity Shield.
Other top winners of the international polo fiesta were the Murtala Laushi powered debutants, Jos AM&C, who turned their outsiders rating to pure gold with a 10-31/2 victory over former winners, Kaduna Sublime, to clinch the glittering Access Bank Cup.
Afden Petroleum team overwhelmed their 8Twenty8 opponents for their first UNICEF Cup title. The ambitious Badako Zaz team hanged onto their superior goals difference to earn their biggest Charity Shield yet, edging their better-mounted Kangimi to the second place in the race for the Usman Dantata Cup.
Chief Host and Chairman, Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Resort, Adamu Atta, led top dignitaries, including the EFCC Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrashid Bawa, Kaduna State First Lady, Ummi Nasir EL-Rufai, UNICEF officials and traditional rulers to hand out prizes to winners and runners-up in a colourful closing ceremony that brought down the curtain on the 2022 charity polo fiesta.