Paris 2024: Sports Minister appeals to Ofili to stay focused amidst registration controversy

Nigeria’s Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, has urged athlete Favour Ofili to remain focused on her upcoming events at the Paris 2024 Olympics, despite the controversy surrounding her exclusion from the 100m race.

Ofili was conspicuously missing in action when the women’s 100m event at the Paris Olympic Games got to a flying start on Friday.

Only Rose Chukwuma and Tima Godbless were in action with the former making it through to Saturday’s semi final.

Quite downcast by her exclusion, Ofili complained that “nothing has been done” to punish the officials that cost her a place in an event she duly qualified for and has been training to excel in for years.

“Sadly, nothing has been done…. I’m yet to see or hear anyone is being punished for what the NOC and AFN did to me,” Ofili wrote on her X page on Friday. “Athletes shouldn’t be getting punished for things out of their control.”

In an official statement released late Friday night, the Minister expressed his disappointment and frustration with the situation, stating:

“I was on the matter until the early hours of today, with the hope of giving Nigerians something to be happy about… From the moment I stated my position on this, officials of the NOC haven’t slept, they have been on their toes.”

The Minister acknowledged the efforts of the NOC President, Habu Gumel, and his team, but emphasised that he is solely concerned with finding a solution for Nigeria. He questioned the circumstances surrounding Ofili’s exclusion, asking:

“At what point did her name drop out of the 100m race? Who’s responsible for this? What’s the motivation behind this? What’s the trail of communication from AFN to NOC and to IOC and/or World Athletics?”

Enoh vowed to address the issue immediately after the Olympics, urging Ofili to stay concentrated on her remaining events.

He also encouraged the rest of Team Nigeria, particularly the Athletics team, to remain motivated to win.

READ ALSO:Paris 2024: Team Nigeria misses out on Mixed Relay final

Ofili is registered for the 200m as well as the 4X100m Relay events.

While Team Nigeria will be hoping for more successes in Saturday’s event, only Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has qualified for the final of his Shot Put event.

The Mixed Relay team narrowly missed out on a place in the final despite setting a new national record. No Nigerian athlete pulled to the final in the Women’s High Jump and Discuss Throw events.