“Actually sir, we returned from the National Sports Festival in April and before we went, our governor promised us some money. He sent a representative to address all the athletes and promised to reward each gold medalist with N1 million, silver medalist to get N750, 000 and a bronze medalist will get N500, 000. And now sir, we have been waiting for months for them to come and receive us… they talked about sewing some uniforms for us; later they still said they want to lodge us in a hotel before paying us our money, and we begin to wonder, what’s the big deal? Why should they be sewing uniforms and renting five-star hotels for us when all we want is our money? So now, we have been waiting for them since April and it seems they want to loot that money because the governor had already approved the money to be given to us.”
She disclosed that the athletes have met with the state’s director of sports several times, and, “he keeps telling us to be patient. We are tired of waiting for them… many of these officials will be retiring in a few weeks’ time and if we don’t mount pressure on them, they will retire and go with our money.”
Speaking with the media the state’s Commissioner for Sports, Dan Chike Ogu, said the governor has approved to host the athletes. “What is delaying the reception now is the date. The governor has approved the reception and what they are entitled to. When he comes back, everything will be put in place.”
On the uniforms being arranged for the athletes, Ogu said: “I am not in the committee set up for the uniform; they have a committee for entertainment and other committees. I am only the commissioner, overseeing everything. Are they saying sowing uniforms for them is bad? I am not a party to the plan to put them in a hotel, and I can tell you that this is just a proposal, which the governor is yet to approve. Even putting them in the hotel and sewing uniforms for them is a waste of money. Where are they currently sleeping? Will they return to an unbefitting accommodation after sleeping in a five-star hotel? In any case, the final decision will be made when the governor returns.”
