Julius OkorieTwenty four hours after the 100m women’s heats were concluded in Paris with only Rosemary Chukwuma set to partake in today’s semifinal showdown, Nigerians have joined issues with the AFN, NOC and the Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh, over inability of Favour Ofili to compete in the event.
Ofili’s name had mysteriously gone missing from the list of eligible athletes for the women 100m event with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and National Olympic Committee (NOC) claiming that they submitted the name but could not explain how the name got deleted from the list.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOfili had in a series of tweets ahead of the 100m race complained about deliberate attempt to deny her opportunity to showcase her skills after “working hard for four years” ahead of the Olympics. The Minister on his part had initially ordered the two bodies to ensure that Ofili featured in the event.
However, after the race, the Minister dished out a long tweet where he noted that Ofili sadly did not feature in the event but at the same time appeared to acknowledge that the AFN and NOC “worked round the clock to make it happen, adding that the officials have been on their toes.”
The Minister’s tweet in full reads:
“The 100m race got off to a start today, sadly without Favor Ofili. I was on the matter until the early hours of today, with the hope of giving Nigerians something to be happy about.
“From the moment I stated my position on this, officials of the NOC haven’t slept, they have been on their toes.
“The NOC President, Engr Habu Gumel and his team kept vigil, traversing between the Director of Competition, the Technical Committee and the World Athletics. I have been duly informed that some other countries have similar issues, and these aforementioned bodies do not want to open a floodgate that would become difficult to manage.
“Howbeit, I am not concerned about other countries. My interest is with my own country, Nigeria and who is responsible for the non-listing of Favor Ofili.
“Furthermore, I have been briefed that World Athletics submitted, that when the final list was published in July by it, AFN should have called its attention to the omission of Favor Ofili’s name. This still doesn’t address the issue.
“At what point did her name drop out of the 100m race? Who’s responsible for this? What’s the motivation behind this?
“What’s the trail of communication from AFN to NOC and to IOC and/or World Athletics?
“All these are questions that must be answered immediately after the Olympics. For now, I appeal to Favor Ofili to refuse to allow this to distract her concentration in the remaining races for which she has been listed (I’m in touch with her on this).
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“And for the rest of Team Nigeria, particularly the Athletics team, let them stay motivated to win”
However neither the so called effort of the AFN/NOC nor the submission and observations of the minister tickled the fancy of Nigerians who reacted on the issue as they practically hauled pebbles at both bodies and the Minster as well.
Agu ji egbe!@buzuzu7 said Sir I’m still not convinced you’ve thoroughly addressed this matter. By now, Engr Habu Gumel should’ve resigned his position to make way for a thorough investigation. That’s how serious matters are treated in sane climes and Nigeria must not be an exception
Teeto@lareto24 had this to say “AFN didn’t even notice or ignored when the final list was published in July (First error cos that would be someone’s duty). Only naive person will hope that her names will be added when Olympic already started. There must be a consequence for this error cos if Ofili hadn’t spoken out, it would have gone the hush-hush Nigerian way. Only God knows how many athletes over the years have gone through this but kept mute.”
JABULANI@tundeoladun said “On this matter, people should lose their jobs. No sentiments. Many have lost their jobs for lesser mistakes and the world did not stop.”
Should Heads Roll Or Not Roll Over The Favour Ofili Saga?
Mabunmi O. O.@olumabs added, “We are yet to see any publication from NOC since the Favour reported this matter. Is Mr Gumel untouchable? Is he not answerable to Nigerians? Just to crosscheck a list of not more than 100 athletes became rocket since for people at NOC. This is beyond pathetic.” Leah Katung-Babatunde@leeyah2k said “Dear minister, in all honesty Nigerians expect more from you. While we need answers to the questions you raised, we also need scapegoats, it is not a first time happenstance. Bad behaviour should be rewarded accordingly. We wait….”
On the Minister’s promise to see that the questions he raised on the issue are answered after the Olympics, recommendations have also been made to that effect should the officials refuse to say the truth in the course of post-Olympic investigation.
Benjamin 😎❤️@Benjami13159117 suggested to the Minister, “Sir with due respect, if no one wants to say the truth sack them all, do you know what’s going on in the athletics world in Nigeria athletes are scared to speak up.”
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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