Nigeria out of world relays amid rift between AFN, sports ministry

Team Nigeria will not be competing at the world athletics relays next month as a disagreement between the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the ministry of youths and sports development escalates.

The country’s athletes are due to participate in the competition billed from May 1-2 in Poland, but a statement by Marcus Amanzi, AFN media director, said the sports ministry “scuttled our chance of participation”.

Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, AFN factional president, was quoted to have said that the ministry opted to take the athletes on a training tour in the United States instead of the venue in Silesia, Poland.

“Nigeria will not participate in the World Relays because the Ministry of Youth and Sports opted to take the athletes to a training tour in the United States for the same relays, they are yet to qualify for, instead of a pre- Olympic Games qualification in Poland,” the statement read.

“The information at our disposal is that athletes who were supposed to represent Nigeria at the World Athletics Relays in Silesia, Poland were taken to the US Embassy to obtain visas for a training tour of an event they were yet to qualify for.

OFFICIAL:

Nigeria won't be participating at the World Relays billed to happen in Silesia from May 1 to 2, 2021.

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The World Relays was supposed to serve as a major qualifiers for the Relays at the Olympics but the Ministry's latest stunt has scuttled that.

Details here 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/e7vXm9j8i0

— Athletics Federation of Nigeria (@TheAFN_) April 29, 2021

“The scheduled relays in Poland were meant to enable Nigeria to secure qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo but to our disbelief, the athletes’ passports were diverted to the USA Embassy to secure visas for a training camp for an event they are yet to qualify for. How can a qualification competition in Poland which was our best bet be ignored for a training camp in the USA?”

Speaking with PUNCH, John Akanji, media aide to Sunday Dare, the sports minister, denied Gusau’s claim that the ministry blew the country’s chances of participating in the competition.

Akanji, who apparently refused to acknowledge Shehu-Gusau as AFN president, added that “the athletes were denied visas by the Polish embassy.”