Fresh updates have emerged in the wake of the IAAF threat to sanction Nigeria following money mistakenly credited to it, Technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Sunday Adeleye shedding more light on the issue.
The International Association of Athletics Federation threatened to sanction its affiliate body in Nigeria, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria if it fails to, within a fresh two-week deadline, refund the monies wrongfully paid into the account of the federation since May 17, 2017.
In a letter sent to the president of the AFN, Ibrahim Gusau, and signed by the IAAF Senior Manager, Governance, Jee Isram, it said the AFN was contacted immediately the anomaly was noticed on March 18, 2018, to refund the sum of $130,000 that was wrongly credited.
Speaking with www.brila.net, Adeleye revealed that the present administration never got the money as it was sent before the transition between the previous and present administration, as they only found out the truth due to the IAAF failing to give Nigerian athletes who emerge victorious in tournaments their prize money since the country has refused to return the 130,000 dollars.
“Its a contribution of every other country out together to make the sports grow so why would Nigeria be holding other people’s right back”.
“Even when our athletes go for tournaments and win money, nothing is given to them because of this money and so they threaten that they do not want to represent the country anymore because you are owing us”.
“But in all honesty, the athletes do not know the truth, they feel the IAAF is paying the money to the AFN, but the AFN are holding on to their money, not giving it to them”
When this money came in, it was the time where we were taking over the government, that was a transition between the former administration and our own administration so when this money came in, we had no knowledge of it”.
“We had no knowledge of it until pressure started mounting and questions were being asked, we started looking into it, asking that why have our athletes not been getting their money and that was when we found out that IAAF would not be paying our athletes until we refund the money”
“The money involved did not get through to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and nobody, not even the president can say what happened to the money”.
