Minister of
Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung has summoned the Athletics Federation
of Nigeria's Secretary-General, Olumide Bamiduro and ministry staff of the
Federation of Elite Athletes Department (FEAD) today to explain the ticket
scandal that rocked the social media at the weekend.
A mail
purportedly written by the AFN secretary Bamiduro had asked athletes to send an
estimate of what their ticket to Rio may cost with an assurance that refunds
will be given if approved by the ministry for purchase by the athletes.
The Minister
had washed his hands off the mail that went viral on Saturday, stating in a
release that he had neither instructed anyone to push such information nor even
muted such to FEAD.
Barrister
Dalung had warned through a statement that those who wrote such a letter asking
athletes to buy their air tickets to Rio will be investigated and sanctioned
accordingly.
“I hereby
restate that no athlete has been authorized or asked to buy his or her ticket
to the Olympic Games. Whoever that wrote the letter did so on his or her own
accord without due consultation with the overseer of sports in the country
which is the Ministry of Youth and Sports. We are totally committed to the
welfare of our athletes and will ensure that they are not psychologically
affected by distractions caused by this letter" Dalung assured.
Meanwhile
athletes will start moving to the Games village on August 1, 2016. The Ministry
of Youth and Sports is to ensure the smooth movement of athletes abroad to the
Games Village in Rio.
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