The Nationwide Sports activities Fee (NSC) has issued a agency demand for transparency and accountability from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) following age-discrepancy considerations raised by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics.
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The AIU formally queried Nigeria over suspected age irregularities involving a number of younger athletes who competed on the CAA U18/U20 African Championships held earlier this 12 months in Abeokuta.
The event has triggered critical concern throughout the NSC, which has vowed to clamp down ruthlessly on age dishonest throughout all sports activities.
NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko didn’t mince phrases, describing the AFN’s dealing with of age-verification processes as unacceptable.
“At a time we’re giving no place to age cheat in our sports activities, this won’t be swept underneath the carpet, I can guarantee Nigerians. We’re decided to get it proper from our age-grade competitions,” Dikko declared.
He careworn that any administrator, coach or official discovered complicit in falsifying ages or failing to conduct correct verification will face penalties.
NSC Director Normal Hon. Bukola Olopade echoed the Chairman’s stance, saying the AFN should urgently restore credibility by competence, diligence, and strict adherence to international requirements.
Rising from a closed-door assembly with AFN’s prime brass — together with Technical Director Gabriel Okon and nationwide crew coaches — Olopade warned that the period of institutional negligence was over.
“For us on the Nationwide Sports activities Fee, this doesn’t paint the AFN in good mild. We won’t hesitate to come back down onerous on any official discovered answerable for this embarrassment,” he mentioned.
“The win-at-all-costs mentality should cease. Youth competitions are for improvement, not desperation.”
The NSC has directed the AFN to reply instantly and comprehensively to the AIU inquiry in an effort to defend Nigeria’s status globally.
In an additional demonstration of the Fee’s zero-tolerance strategy, two athletes have already been dropped from Staff Nigeria’s camp forward of the Africa Youth Video games in Angola as a consequence of unresolved age discrepancies.
The message from Nigeria’s sports activities management is unmistakably clear: age dishonest will not be tolerated — and accountability has lastly arrived.
