By Milcah Tanimu
Nigerian athlete Favour Ofili has made a second public plea regarding her exclusion from the 100-meter race at the Paris Olympics. Despite qualifying and registering for the event, Ofili’s name has not been included on the official list of athletes, a failure attributed to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).
In a heartfelt post on her X account, Ofili expressed her disappointment, saying, “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity.”
Ofili also highlighted past issues, recalling that she couldn’t compete in the last Olympics due to AFN, NADC, and NOC failing to release funds for athlete testing, which affected 14 qualified Nigerian athletes.
Senator Owan Enoh, Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development, confirmed that Ofili had registered and qualified for the 100-meter race. He mandated the AFN and NOC to ensure her participation, threatening sanctions if they failed to comply.
“As Minister of Sports, I will not tolerate this utter recklessness. It is highly inexcusable, and there will be thorough sanctions after investigations into where and from whom this gross negligence originated. The Athletic Federation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Olympic Committee must ensure that Favour Ofili is not deprived of the opportunity to compete in the races for which she is qualified and registered to represent the country at the Paris Olympics,” stated Senator Enoh.
Despite these assurances, Ofili took to her X account again on Friday to lament the lack of action, writing, “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. Athletes shouldn’t be getting punished for things out of their control.”
