Edo Govt Assures Athletes On Camping

The Edo Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has assured that athletes of Team Edo would be camped for the upcoming 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) when the state government was ready.
Shaibu gave the assurance yesterday while addressing some of the athletes who protested in front of the Edo Government House in Benin about late camping and payment of allowances.
“If we have not defaulted in paying you in any tournament you have participated, is it now that we are hosting that we will default?
“We have made up our mind on what to do, and you have to act in line with that. We want you to be of good discipline and that is key in the effort to win medals for us,’’ he said.
The deputy governor reminded the athletes of similar incidents in the past and the effects they had on their performance, saying they should be comfortable with past efforts by the state government.
“You remember that during the 19th NSF in Abuja, I spoke to you guys like this. I appealed to you all, assured you that your allowances will be paid, but your delay in listening to me caused us three gold medals.
“The era of your allowances being paid to coaches is gone. We are going to use the same template as it was during the last festival, where money was paid directly into athletes’ accounts.’’
On the issue of closed camping for the athletes, the deputy governor assured that the actual period of camping of athletes would be strictly adhered to.
“You will go into camp at our own time, and we will communicate this to you, as well as what you will get when you win a medal. We will tell you what you are getting for winning and for participating,’’ he said.
Shaibu, however, warned that athletes should not allow themselves to be used by those he described as dishonest people.
“They want your allowances to be paid to them and not directly to you,’’ he said.
The spokesperson for the protesting athletes, Friday Aigbagben, assured the deputy governor that they were not sponsored to protest.
“We are only interested in knowing the number of days we will spend in camp, and what are our allowances during the camping period and during the festival.
“Also, we want to know what our reward is at the end of the event. Those are the things that brought us here,’’ he said.