Unaccounted N2.9bn Stalls Dream Team’s Camping

Nigeria Olympic team, Dream Team VI, did not open training camp in Abuja on Monday as announced and a new resumption date has yet to be made known.
This development may well not be unconnected with the unaccounted 2.9 billion Naira released by the federal government for the entire preparations by all the sports entered by the country for the Rio Olympics in August.
The Dream Team’s training camp falls under this preparation.
The draw for the Rio Olympics football event will be staged on April 14.
Meanwhile, former boss of now defunct National Sports Commission (NSC), Al Hassan Yakmut, has revealed the Nigeria team to last year’s U23 -AFCON in Senegal were paid 250 million Naira (about $1.4 million ).
Yakmut was mentioned by sports minister Solomon Dalung in a 2.9 billion Naira that was released by the government to pay for the country’s preparations for the Rio Olympics among other expenditure which has yet to be accounted for.
Yakmut said Dalung cannot say he is unaware of how the cash was spent after he approved 250 million Naira to be paid the Olympic team who went on to win the U23 AFCON and qualify for the Rio Olympics.
“We paid out 250 million Naira for the team to the U23 AFCON in Senegal and it was based on the approval of the minister,” Yakmut said in Abuja  on Monday.
Sports minister Dalung revealed he had to pay thrice what he would have paid last year to secure the country’s accommodation at the Rio Olympics in August.