- By Victor Oguntade
Though yet to be hosted by the Federal Government for her silver medal finish at the recently concluded World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recognising the efforts of Nigerian athletes through his government’s reward system.
Amusan, who is the world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, underlined the importance of such recognition, noting the personal sacrifices athletes make to compete at the highest level.
“All thanks to him(President Tinubu), I mean, he’s recognising, you know, we the athletes and it’s so much that we put in behind the scenes. Look, I have a whole lot of team here and you don’t want to know how much I actually paid to bring them down here,” Amusan said in an interview.
Despite the financial demands that come with elite training and competition, the 27-year-old said the government’s renewed gesture in recent times has offered encouragement for Nigerian athletes.
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“With all that being said, you know, we give thanks to the ones who actually acknowledge the fact that we athletes are actually putting in the work and we get rewarded,” she further said.
“It’s not a must but you know the fact that he does recognise our hard work and compensate us for them, we’re thankful for that.”
Amusan clinched silver in Tokyo and her remarks has undoubtedly added to the wave of positive responses from Nigerian athletes to Tinubu’s unprecedented reward packages for the Super Falcons and D’Tigress after their continental victories.
In a related development, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has confirmed that President Tinubu has appended his signatures to all necessary memos so that the victorious Super Falcons and D’Tigress at recent continental engagements will receive their pledged presidential gifts.
“I have raised a memo to Mr. President to say these are the people that are entitled to these rewards. This is their account numbers and their addresses. Please, Mr. President, direct the relevant authorities – the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General – to pay this money directly into their accounts. Direct the Minister of Housing to make the allocation of houses, and the Minister of Special Duties to issue the national awards and certificates. That memo was raised,” Dikko said.
He added that the process had passed through due channels and had been endorsed by the President.
“As we speak, the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation are processing the payments. The Minister of Housing is handling the housing allocations, while the Minister of Special Duties is processing the issuance of national awards and certificates,” he explained.