By Flinster Austin
Published on 2024-02-23 03:23:44
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) is gearing up for the 13th African Games, which are set to take place in the Ghanaian cities of Accra, Cape Coast, and Kumasi next month. The AFN has invited a total of 33 athletes, with 17 men and 16 women set to participate in the games. The list of athletes was released late on Wednesday evening, just after the conclusion of the national trials in Asaba, Delta State.
The team, which began camping in Abuja yesterday, will remain in the Federal Capital Territory until their departure to Ghana next month. The women’s 100m winner, Olayinka Olajide, will lead the team, with other notable athletes such as Blessing Ogundiran, Tiana Justina Eyakpobeyan, Esther Elo Joseph, Patience Okon, and Esther Okon also on the list. On the men’s side, sprinters Fakorede Adekalu, Enoch Adegoke, Israel Okon, and Consider Ekanem will also be heading to the Abuja camp.
The athletes will be working with coaches such as Samuel Onikeku, Teye Endurance, Solomon Aliyu, Kayode Yahaya, Deji Aliu, Mohammed Dabo, and Gabriel Okon in preparation for the games.
In the midst of the preparations for the African Games, there has been some controversy surrounding the AFN. The chairman of the Jigawa Athletics Association, Mohammed Adamu, has dismissed claims made by his Gombe counterpart, Shuaib Ahmed Gara Gombe, that there are plans to impeach AFN president, Tonobok Okowa. Gara Gombe had claimed that about 15 members of the congress met in Kaduna over the weekend and have scheduled another meeting for Akure, Ondo State, with the agenda of impeaching Okowa as AFN president.
Adamu, the chairman of Jigawa Athletics Association, denied knowledge of any such meeting, stating, “I can tell you that no meeting of such held in Kaduna. There is no way a meeting concerning athletics will hold in the North without my consent. All they said are pure lies.”
This claim has been met with skepticism by other stakeholders, who see it as an attempt to cause confusion within the athletics family. It is the latest effort by some dissatisfied AFN members to disrupt the organization and its activities.
As the AFN prepares for the African Games, they will continue to focus on their training and preparation for the upcoming competition. Despite the controversies surrounding the association, the athletes and coaches remain committed to representing Nigeria at the highest level in the upcoming games.
