The 18th edition of the National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012 kicked off yesterday with fanfare at the main bowl of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. Vice president, Namadi Sambo, who declared the prestigious event open, enthused that the objective of the festival was to foster national unity and discover talents who would represent the country in future international engagements.
With a view to motivating the participating states to give their best at the event that opened amid glitz and glamour, Sambo, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan, pledged a cash gift of N20m for any state that comes first, N15m for the second runner up and N10m for the third runner up. “I am highly delighted to be a part of the opening ceremony of the 18th Sports Festival in Lagos.
The main objective of this Festival is to foster national unity in the country and also discover talents that will be nurtured to represent the country in future international competitions,” he enthused. “Over the years, the Festival has achieved this target. You are aware that the Federal Government had a retreat to reform sports in the country. So, I can assure you that the recommendations of the retreat will be carried out to enhance sports development in the country,” he added.
I advise the athletes to stay away from performance- enhancing drugs and give their best to excel in the Festival. The officials should also be fair in officiating the games. “On behalf of the Federal Government, I pledge cash gifts of 20 million naira for the best state, 15 million naira for the second best state and 10 million naira for the third best state,” he said. He, however, assured of government’s support to Nigerian sports development.
Nigerians however may not see the best of the 18th National Sports Festival following revelations that some state sports councils and their athletes have yet to resolve issues concerning their daily allowances during the games and remuneration for winning medals at the event.
On Friday, the Lagos athletes protested the delayed payment, storming the Teslim Balogun Stadium where the Main Organising Committee is located, to demand their money. According to the athletes, it was better to agitate for the money then than wait for the games to begin.
One of the athletes said, “This protest is not meant to embarrass Lagos State but we’ve not been paid our allowances. We need money for our welfare.”
An official of the Local Organising Committee, however, confirmed that parts of the allowances were paid on Monday. The official did not disclose how much was released to the athletes.
A similar situation is bedevilling Team Edo. The athletes had protested by boycotting training while in camp in Edo State, demanding, among other things, increased daily allowances and an assurance of monetary rewards when they return from the games.
The Edo State government, in quick response, approved N120m for the athletes ahead of the games, but the fear remains in the team that some of them have been identified as troublemakers and would have been removed from the team had the games not drawn close.
The athletes were paid N1,000 daily while the coaches received N2,000 daily, but the athletes reportedly wanted a 50 per cent increase which the state said it could not afford.
In the case of Ondo, athletes were only placated on Saturday with the reward for their efforts at the last sports festival in Port Harcourt in 2011. There were threats of a total boycott of the games by the athletes if they were not paid for the last event, a situation that affected their training schedule.
Chairman of the the Ondo team, Bamido Omogbehin, said on Tuesday that the cash for this edition would be N20,000 for gold, N15,000 for silver and N10,000 for bronze.
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