The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has bestowed one of the highest awards in the state on players and officials of Rivers United football club of Port Harcourt. Rivers United is the current NPFL holder of the 2021/22 season. They won their first since the club was created, breaking records in their voyage to victory.
The honouring of the players and officials came after the Pride of Rivers qualified for the next round of the CAF Confederation tournament.
The award, Governor’s Medal of Service (GMS), is the third-highest distinction in Rivers State Order conferred on individuals in recognition of their exceptional service/performance in any field of human endeavor.
Wike conferred the honor on players and officials of the team, after emerging champions of the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League.
The event tagged “State honour and award 2022 was organized by the Rivers State Government in Port Harcourt and had a total of 162 honours.
17 honours were conferred with the award of Grand Service Star of Rivers State (GSSRS), 110 with the Distinguished Service Star of Rivers State (DSSRS), 33 with the Governor’s Medal of Service (GMS) while 2 individuals got the Rivers State Merit award (RSMA)
The state government had earlier promised the players and coaches $40,000 to qualify ahead of African Champions in the CAF Champions. Unfortunately, the Pride of Rivers failed despite taking a 2-1 first-leg lead in Rivers.
