Athletes and sports unions in Ondo State on Tuesday shut down the State Sports Complex in Akure while protesting the appointment of an Acting General Manager for the Ondo State Sports Council by the state government.

The protesters, armed with placards bearing various inscriptions, alleged that the appointment of Mrs Evelyn Lebi would further hinder sports development in the state.

The demonstrators, drawn from sports unions comprising coaches and athletes, urged the state government to reconsider the appointment, stressing that the sector required strong and visionary leadership to overcome its current challenges.

Speaking with journalists, the Coordinating Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Coach Fisayo Bello, said sports in Ondo State needed “a competent technocrat with passion and vision” to restore its past glory.

He said: “We need someone with passion for sports who can take us back to our glorious days, not backwards. She contested four years ago; we said no then and we are saying no now.

“She contested four years ago, we said no and we are saying no now, we want a better person, we want a technocrat that can take us back to our glorious day, not backwards.”

Also speaking, Chairman of the Ondo State Professional Coaches Association, Comrade Joshua Ogunbiyi, said the protest was not targeted at Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, whom he described as supportive of sports, but at the appointment itself.

Ogunbiyi said stakeholders had previously expressed reservations about Lebi’s suitability, adding that the sector required fresh energy and effective leadership to move forward.

He said: “The stage at which we are now, sport is not moving forward. We want somebody, a vibrant and competent general manager, this time around. Somebody that will come and revive sport development.

“A person like Lebi has contested for this position for over three times. And we have made government to realise that this woman is not competent. This woman is not a good woman.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Henry Omoyofunmi, dismissed the protest, describing it as unnecessary.

Omoyofunmi said Lebi was a qualified professional with over 15 years’ experience at the Sports Council and was currently serving as Director of Sports in the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

He explained that her appointment followed due process after the expiration of the tenure of the former general manager, adding that the Head of Service posted her to the council in line with civil service procedures.