The maiden edition of the National Fitness Day will kick-start at the Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow with dignitaries including the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia expected to participate.
Other dignitaries expected to grace the event, which is aimed at promoting fitness across the country, include the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ministers of State, Parliamentarians and other renowned personalities.
Addressing the press ahead of the event, Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, said the event would begin with a gathering at the stadium before a walk through the Ministries, High Street and back to the stadium for aerobics and other activities.
“It would be a two-hour fitness activity which would include table tennis, cycling, boxing and others as part of efforts to get participants to engage various forms of exercises,” he stated
The National Fitness Day, he said, would be replicated across all 16 regions and expected to be held on the second Saturday of every month.
He assured participants of top-notch security and urged all Ghanaians to come on board to promote and sustain the initiative.
Mr Ussif said quarterly, the national event would be held at other regions to ensure that they get everyone on board to become Ambassadors of the programme.
“The health benefits of physical activities cannot be underestimated and all Ghanaians must take physical activities seriously,” he stressed.
He said tomorrow’s event would begin at 5.am with sponsors including Niche Cocoa, Vienna and Coca-Cola on board to refresh participants.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr Pius Enam Hadzide, commended government for the initiative which would go a long way to promote healthy culture among Ghanaians.
He endorsed the event and called on the over 11 million youth and 300 registered youth groups in the country to participate in the event.
“Fitness is a very important development that we must be taken seriously and we must all come on board to make exercising a regular activity,” he stated.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
