Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye
Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye has thrown a challenge to his successor Isaac Asiamah for a debate on their achievements in sports.
In a similar fashion to how John Dramani Mahama dared Akufo-Addo for a conversation on infrastructure, Nii Lante Vanderpuye has asked Asiamah to avail himself for discourse concerning their accomplishments and promises for the sporting sector.
Nii Lante made the call when he appeared on Asempa FM’s sports morning show to discuss the sports promises captured in the NDC manifesto for the 2020 elections.
He boasted that his compatriot will be no match for him and also tasked Asiamah’s deputy to make himself available for a debate with Kobina Woyome, a ranking member on Parliament’s Sports Committee.
“I want the minister. Minister to minister so that we debate. Mahama called Akufo-Addo and he is running away and his appointees are also running away. I’m calling for a debate between me and the minister of sports and debate between my ranking member on youth and sports and deputy sports minister Perry Okudzeto”.
“I won’t allow Akufo-Addo to run away and for Asiamah to also run away. I want a debate at the Accra Sports Stadium”.
Nii Lante Vanderpuye also asked Ghanaians to take pleasure in the promises made by the NDC and vote for them in the upcoming elections.
The MP held that the return of the NDC will see massive infrastructure development in sports.
He stated that a future NDC government will construct an indoor sports facility in either the Bono Region or Upper East to help discover more boxing talents.
“This is good news for Ghanaians. There is going to be another indoor facility to be located outside Accra. It will be located somewhere in the Bono Region or Upper East Region”.
Nii Lante said that the construction of sports facilities will be tailored to the talents the regions are known for. He said regions with a reputation for producing footballers will get football-specific facilities while those known to be producing athletes will get athletic ovals.
“What we are going to do in the location of facilities is to look at the comparative advantages of those regions. What are in the blood and genes of those regions as far as sports is concerned. So we will not build boxing gyms in Kumasi when we know Kumasi is not noted for boxing. Kumasi has produced some of the fastest runners we’ve ever seen so we’ll improve on the athletic facilities in Kumasi so that very good athlete will come from Kumasi.”
