Following his inauguration into the Akwa Ibom state Executive Council, Elder Paul Bassey, on Wednesday, February 26 2025, assumed office as Honourable Commissioner for Sports , Akwa Ibom State with a charge on members of staff to be disciplined, hardworking and dedicated to duty.
Addressing staff of the ministry, Bassey thanked the Governor for reposing such huge confidence in him and granting him the opportunity to serve.
“While I lead from the front, we must brace ourselves to work tirelessly in order to actualize the sports contents of the ARISE agenda of His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno.” He said.
The Honourable Commissioner leveraged the opportunity to pour encomium on his predecessor in office, Sir Monday Ebong Uko, whom he said had done tremendously well, especially in the area of infrastructure, and promised to build on the already laid foundation.
The Honourable Commissioner highlighted his plans to include redirecting attention slightly away from football to other sports, with particular emphasis on talent discovery.
Earlier, while welcoming her new boss and presenting him with the ministry’s brief, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Lady Rose Bassey, described the Honourable Commissioner as a square peg in a square hole, and expressed confidence in his capacity to excel.
She pledged the cooperation and support of all members of staff to enable him succeed.
Bassey began his sports journalism career as a reporter and writer for Nigerian Chronicle newspaper in 1977.
He was promoted to the rank of sports editor four years later. In 1986, Bassey joined The Punch Newspapers as a sports editor.
Five years later, Champion Newspaper appointed him the group sports editor and he was later promoted to the position of deputy general manager.
He left Champion Newspapers to establish a daily sports paper, Today Sports, a publication of DP Communications Ltd., with its corporate headquarters and publishing house in Ikeja, Lagos. He was the editor-in-chief of the daily national sports newspaper, now defunct.
Bassey anchored one of the popular Nigeria Television Sports programmes on NTA, Master Sports.
