- Safiu Kehinde
Athletes representing Ogun State at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, the state’s capital, have on Wednesday sabotaged the day’s activities in protest over unpaid allowances.
The athletes, as captured in a video shared on X, had blocked the main gate of the Abeokuta Games Village obstructing movement of other athletes prepared for the day’s sporting activities.
Several buses conveying other athletes from different parts of the country queued up at the gate as they were denied entrance by the protesting athletes of the host state.
While the state government and the National Sports Commission is yet to comment on the development, it had again dented the image of sporting events organized in the country.
Recall similar occurrence in April when protest broke out at the Cornelia Connelly College (CCC) camp of athletes participating at the maiden Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) over non-payment of their allowance.
The aggrieved athletes had locked the gate to their hostel, preventing entry and exit.
They alleged foul play in the renumeration process because there was no official disclosure on the amount athletes would be paid at the festival.