Athletes representing Ogun State at the ongoing National Sports Festival staged a protest over the non-payment of their allowances.
The protesting athletes blocked the entrance to the Games Village (Babcock University) early this morning, effectively halting the movement of participants and officials.
As a result, athletes and officials from other states, scheduled to compete in morning events, are reportedly stranded inside the hostels and unable to proceed to the competition venues — a situation some have described as “hostel arrest.”
Tensions remain high as efforts to resolve the standoff are ongoing.
Efforts to reach the Director General of the Nigerian Sports Commission Bukola Olopade who also is the Chairman Local Organising Committee of the games as at the time of filing in this report proved abortive as he neither picked his calls or responded to his text or WhatsApp message.
This embarrassment comes after Olopade told journalists on Tuesday that the 2025 Gateway Games was the best National Sports Festival in 25 years.
“When I’m doing something right, I say it boldly and with confidence; this is the best sports festival in the last 25 years,” Olopade said.
“I can’t speak about the ones held before I got involved, but since I started participating in 1999, none comes close to what Ogun State has delivered.”
Highlighting the achievements of the festival, Olopade praised the standard of facilities, hostel accommodations, feeding, transportation, level of competition, and the quality of media coverage.
“We’ve made a strong statement. The benchmark has been set, and the next host state, Enugu, will have a lot to live up to.
“We look forward to a memorable closing ceremony, it’s going to be a banger,” he added.
