Delta 2022 National Sports Festival fall-out

Ministry admits errors in calculation as Delta, Bayelsa, Edo, others lose medals

After a review of the medals table of the Asaba 2022 National Sports Festival by an independent committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Team Delta is still the undisputed winner with 280 gold medals. The host state, however, lost 40 gold, 32 silver and 28 bronze medals in what has been described as human error occasioned by administrative laxity, inexperience, general delay, non-awareness and in some cases, the misapplication of substantive festival rules. The new medals table has been rectified and approved by the Ministry.

At the end of the 21st National Sports Festival, tagged Delta 2022, some states’ officials raised the alarm that they were awarded more medals than the number won by their athletes. It prompted the sports ministry to set up the committee to investigate it.

Team Bayelsa still maintains its second position with 106 gold, 100 silver and 83 bronze medals, despite losing 26 gold, 15 silver and seven bronze medals. Team Edo also retained its third position with 69 gold, 77 silver and 134 bronze medals. Edo lost nine gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze medals.

Team Oyo and Lagos still maintain their original positions of fourth and fifth positions on the medals table.

Contrary to reports earlier in the week, Team Rivers did not slip from its original sixth position on the newly approved medals table, and unlike some other states that lost huge number of gold medals, Team Rivers retained its 35 gold, but lost 53 silver and 21 bronze medals in the new arrangement.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the FMYSD, Ismaila Abubakar, the committee was able to reveal, through the full application of the rules, that the results from some events in athletics, weightlifting and wrestling, which did not meet the criteria for scoring were not recorded on the reviewed medals table, while in accordance with Rule 28 of the World Para Powerlifting Rules and Regulations (March 2022), only the results from ‘Best Lift Medal’ were recorded for the sport of Powerlifting.

”Consequently, it is significant to note that most of the states retained their positions on the Medal Table thereby maintaining the status quo.

“However, some states lost some medals as the committee applied all extant rules guiding the organisation of the National Sports Festival, as applicable in games of this magnitude,’ Abubakar said in the statement.

To avert a re-occurrence, the Sports Ministry says it would take appropriate administrative procedures as recommended by the committee.