Two players of the national U-23 team and three football officials has been sent back to Nigeria from the ongoing 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, by the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung.
According to a report by Punch, the two alternate players are;
1. Stanley Dimgba (Player)
2. Yusuf Mohammed (Goalkeeper)
The officials sent packing by the minister from the games and flown out of Brazil to Nigeria on Monday night are;
1. Timi Ebikagboro – (Team’s media officer)
2. Team curator
3. Team coordinator
The Nigeria Football Federation spokesman said; “We said they should send them back home if they could not take care of the players and officials.”
It was learnt that the Sports minister, Dalung had complained of the huge financial burden of taking care of the extra players and officials after the players were prevented from leaving the hotel over the unpaid bills of eight of their unaccredited players and officials.
He said 84 players and four officials – unofficially accredited persons had been with the team since they left Atlanta for Brazil.
“The organisers of the Games, the International Olympic Committee, are only responsible for 25 accredited players and officials including feeding, flights and accommodation. We have been carrying the rest along. In Manaus, we were forced to pay camp allowances to the extra four players making 29,” Dalung added.
Mr Dalong and NFF,why send these guys home.That the officials failed to coordinate the boys is not their fault,if the team was given the necessary financial support none of them would have voiced out.The question is,is Nigeria the poorest country in Rio Olympic? why is it that other countries are not complaining. This means the government of their country has done better than ours.For God sake,how much is the cost of feeding these four persons sent home,yet the Minister of Sports will be having his own food why in Brazil,are we still cutting cost or we are rebranding cost?.The Ministry of Sports has thrown away the baby with the bath water.We should look before we leap,we should not suffer our nation to be lost in the pages of honour.