By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
Scores of livid Ogun athletes who are participating at the ongoing National Sports Festival have lifted their siege at the entrance to Games Village, Babcock University Ilisan, paving way for late resumption of the festival activities after grounding them for about four hours.
The Daily Crucible had earlier reported that the morning games activities scheduled for Wednesday at the 22nd National Sports Festival were grounded after the Ogun athletes stormed the camp – Babcock University housing all the participating athletes, as they blocked the main entrance and prevented vehicular movement, leaving many of the states stranded.
The Daily Crucible also reports that the athletes blocked the gate of the games village as early as 5:00 am in protest over unpaid allowances owed them by the Ogun State Government.
It was learnt that the aggrieved athletes later reopened the gate at 12:43 pm after the rattled Dapo Abiodun – led state government quickly released funds to offset the allowance.
Sources said that the athletes were paid N40,000, as initially promised by Governor Dapo Abiodun, in addition to N140,000 as their festival allowance.
But the athletes claimed that the agreed allowance was N210,000, when calculated at N15,000 per day over a two – week period.
“We were paid N50,000 this morning, which was what the governor promised us, but to our surprise, they started paying N140,000 as the festival allowance instead of the agreed N210,000,” one of the aggrieved athletes told newsmen.
…Ogun Debunks Unpaid Allowance Claims
However, Ogun State Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Wasiu Isiaka, has debunked claims that the state government is owing the athletes.
Isiaka also dismissed the Wednesday morning demonstration at the Games Village as an error in interpretation of what transpired, according to BSN Sports, an online sports – focused news platform.
Isiaka said, “Some athletes complained they hadn’t received their allowances. But the issue wasn’t that the funds weren’t provided — it was with transferring money into accounts held in non-commercial banks.
“These are normal, small issues that had already been resolved. But as they were asking questions and making inquiries, some people interpreted it as a protest. As we speak, there’s nothing of the sort happening anymore.
“Some people are even claiming the athletes are owed ₦50,000. That’s not true. The money in question is what the governor promised them for qualifying to represent the state. I’m not aware of any unpaid allowances.”
