Athletes from Ogun State, who had earlier disrupted activities at the 22nd National Sports Festival, reopened the games village at Babcock University on Wednesday afternoon, allowing events to finally begin almost four hours later than planned.
The athletes blocked access to the village early in the morning, leaving many participants unable to enter.
The protest started around 5:30 am and ended at 12:43 pm after some payments were made to the athletes by the state government.
They had demanded the full payment of their allowances, which they believed to be N210,000 each. According to the athletes, this amount was calculated based on a N15,000 daily rate over 14 days.
However, they received N40,000 earlier, followed by N140,000, bringing the total to N180,000.
This led to complaints, as they insisted the full agreed sum was yet to be paid.
Despite the disagreement, the athletes eventually allowed the reopening of the village, and the day’s sports activities resumed, although behind schedule.
Before the start of the festival, Governor Dapo Abiodun had promised cash awards to encourage athletes from the state—N2.5 million for each gold medalist, N1.5 million for silver, and N1 million for bronze winners.
As of now, Ogun State ranks third on the festival’s medals table with 48 gold, 38 silver, and 47 bronze medals.
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