National Sports Festival: Ogun state athletes protest unpaid allowances, block venues

Athletes representing Ogun State at the ongoing National Sports Festival have staged a protest over unpaid allowances, disrupting events and blocking access to key venues in the state, according to a report by Sahara Reporters.

The protest, which took place Wednesday morning, was confirmed in a Facebook post by Patrick Omorodion, a source close to the festival.

He stated that the athletes blocked the entrance to the Games Village at Babcock University in Ilishan-Remo, preventing participants from proceeding to competition venues including the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Kuto and the Alake Sports Centre in Ijeja.

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The protest has particularly affected the cycling events, which were scheduled to begin at 8am, with athletes stranded due to the blockade.

Omorodion described the situation as a major embarrassment for the host state and warned that the day’s events could be severely disrupted. He also noted that efforts to reach the Ogun State Sports Commissioner had been unsuccessful at the time of the report.

This incident comes just days after Sahara Reporters revealed that athletes were forced to run the 10,000m final in darkness at the MKO Abiola Stadium when floodlights failed mid-race.