The exclusion of Favour Ofili from the Women’s 100m event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has cast a shadow over Nigeria’s campaign. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria and Nigeria Olympic Committee are now engaged in a blame game, as reported by PUNCH Sports Extra.
Samuel Onikeku, the AFN Technical Director, expressed his surprise at Ofili’s absence in a statement released on Wednesday. He stated, “We had registered Ofili for the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay. It remains a mystery how her name was omitted from the 100m event. This is the position of our federation.”
Taking to her social media platform on Tuesday, Ofili announced her exclusion and vented her frustration, saying, “I have just been informed that I will not be participating in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games. Despite qualifying, the AFN and NOC failed to register me. I have dedicated four years to earn this opportunity.”
She continued, “What was it all for… to miss out on competing at the Olympics due to the negligence of the responsible organizations? I couldn’t compete in the last Olympics because the AFN, NADC, and NOC didn’t release funds for athlete testing, leading to 14 qualified Nigerian athletes missing out on the opportunity to compete.”
“And now this. If those accountable are not held responsible for depriving me of this opportunity, neither organization can be trusted in the future! The next event is the 200 meters; I hope I am entered.”
Addressing the situation, the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, expressed his disappointment and vowed to ensure accountability for the incident in a statement released on Wednesday.
“As Minister of Sports, I will not tolerate this level of carelessness. It is completely unacceptable, and there will be severe repercussions once investigations determine the source of this grave negligence,” he emphasized.