Senate To Probe Sports Minister, NOC Over Failure In Rio Olympics

Less than one week after the end of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil, where Nigeria won only a Bronze Medal in male soccer game, the Senate has revealed plans to probe the roles of the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung and the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), over the poor performance of the country’s contingent to the global event.


This is even as it frowned at the U-23 football team for accepting cash donation from a Japanese philanthropist for their Bronze Medal victory. Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Obinna Ogba, PDP, Ebonyi South, disclosed this, yesterday, during an interview with journalists in Abuja .

Ogba, who was part of the official delegation to Brazil, said a lot of factors ranging from funding to logistics contributed to Nigeria’s no-show performance at the Olympics Games, saying that the Senate will look into the circumstances when it resumes from recess next month.

“My committee intends to invite the NOC to come and brief us on the Olympics. Apart from the late arrival of our athletes’ kits, you can see even our national anthem at the opening ceremony was the wrong one. So, all these, we are going to find out what happened when we resume,” Ogba said.

On the donation of $390,000 to the Olympic Football team by a Japanese plastic surgeon and football enthusiast, Dr. katsuya Takasu, the lawmaker said it was wrong of the team to receive the money because its source was unknown. “I don’t think it was nice for our country to accept such money given the happenings around the world now. Money is good but it’s not every money that comes your way that you collect. So, I associate myself fully with the President of the Nigeria Football Federation,” he noted.