Solomon Ogba, the President, Athletics Federation of Nigeria
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, has revealed that he would no longer contest to remain in office when his tenure expires after the Olympics.
Ogba, who is serving his second term as the AFN president, lamented at the Games Village on Sunday that he had never had it so tough piloting Nigerian athletics in a major competition, adding that he can no longer continue to live on lies.
According to Ogba, “there are so many promises I made to my athletes that I have not been able to fulfill because there is no money to do it. I know how much of my personal fund that I have put into these games and I don’t want a situation where these athletes that trust me will begin to doubt my integrity.
“It is better that I leave and contribute my own quota from the outside than being a president who cannot live by his words.”
He absolved the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, of blame for the poor state of things, saying it was an endemic scourge that ‘has stayed with us for a long time.’
At the end of the London 2012 Olympics, where Nigeria did not win a single medal, the government held a summit where all the issues were tackled.
“The government then set a template that would correct the anomalies and gave a N300 million grant to ensure things worked well.”
- Guardian