Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

No high performance guarantee for Nigerian athletes in Rio

By Gowon Akpodonor
04 May 2016   |   3:38 am
With three months to the commencement of the Rio 2016 Olympics, what appears a major obstacle may have crept into Team Nigeria’s preparation for the Games according to a declaration by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) yesterday.
Obinna-Metu

Obinna Metu

With three months to the commencement of the Rio 2016 Olympics, what appears a major obstacle may have crept into Team Nigeria’s preparation for the Games according to a declaration by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) yesterday.

Before now, the AFN was hopeful that the High Performance Center located inside the University of Port Harcourt would play a major role in aiding Nigerian athletes achieve their desire when the race for medals begin in Rio in August. But the Director of the Centre, Prof. Ken Anugweje, dropped a bombshell yesterday when he said such objective had been bungled by the inability of the Federal Government to provide the needed fund to maintain the High Performance training for the nation’s athletes preparing for the Olympics.

Apart from top athletes like Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor, who train abroad, some other Nigerian athletes, including Ogo-Oghene Egwero, Obinna Metu, Divine Oduduru and others use the High Performance Centre in Port Harcourt to strategize for the Olympics.

But Prof. Anugweje, who coordinates activities of the athletes in the camp, hinted yesterday that unless a miracle happens in Rio, the failure by the Nigerian government to fund the training of the athletes in the Center might have a damaging impact on the team.

“The whole thing boils down to lack of fund from the Federal Government and this is bound to affect our athletes by the time the Olympic Games begin in Rio,” Anugweje stated. “The sports minister came here and one of the promises he made was to make sure money is made available to maintain the training of the athletes ahead the Olympics. But I am sure the delay in passage of the budget affected the plan. Now, the coaches we brought from Abuja to work with us in making sure the athletes get the best of training ahead of the Olympic Games have returned to their respective places due to lack of funds.

“The High Performance Center is still running because it is an IOC recognized centre backed by CAA. The major problem we have is the failure to continue with the programme we put in place for our athletes. This is due to lack of funds,” he said.

Prof. Anugweje has revealed that the AFN is working round the clock to put in place a formidable team for the African Senior Athletics Championships holding in South Africa in June.

The Guardian recalls that Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, paid a visit to the Center in Port Harcourt on assumption of office and pledged government’s continuous­ support to the University in ensuring that all necessary facilities that would lead to the attainment of a modern and functional high performance center is realized despite the paucity of funds.
Meanwhile, AFN have concluded arrangements to host an All-Comers Championship today at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

0 Comments