Sports Minister Senator John Owan Enoh has reached out to the father of Okpala Tanya,Nigeria’s former tennis sensation whose video went viral recently revealing the lamentable state of the one time tennis champion.
According to a statement by Diana-Mary Nsan, Special Assistant, Media to the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator Enoh, the minister contacted Tanya’s father who briefed him on her current condition and the genesis of her problem . He also confirmed to the Sports minister that the Nigerian Tennis Federation paid for Tanya’s first rehabilitation many years ago when her condition became public knowledge but sadly the former tennis star relapsed after a short while.
Okpala Tanya was once a tennis player of repute who has played in a lot of tennis tournaments. She represented Nigeria and the African continent and won laurels to her name.She was a tennis juniors champion who played at the highest level and was ranked number one at the time.
Senator Enoh lauded the Governor of Anambra state for swinging into immediate action to remove the former tennis star from the streets.
“ let me thank the Governor of Anambra state H E Charles Soludo and his team for the swift intervention in the case ofTanya Okpala.This is highly commendable “ he said.
“ As a Ministry, our six point agenda WAIFAR , has the W for activating and enabling a WELFARE system that caters to serving and retired athletes. As a ministry, we will take action in this regard as every athlete who has brought glory to our nation deserves appropriate welfare”
