The sports ministry has brought back para-sports events to the 2022 National Sports Festival billed for Asaba, Delta State from November 28 to December 10.
The para-sports events were initially removed from the festival without adequate explanation, sparking a protest last week in Lagos that disrupted traffic for hours around the National Stadium axis.
Following the protests, the sports ministry has had a change of heart and a directive has been issued to have para-sports reinstated.
“Kindly recall the Virtual Meeting of the National Council on Sports held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, where the decision was taken to remove Para Sports from the 21st NSF,” Director of National Sports Festival in the ministry and secretary of the Main Organising Committee of the festival, Peter Nelson, wrote in a memo to state Directors of Sports, which Naija Times saw today.
“Based on the above, I am directed to inform you that the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, in consultation with stakeholders in sports, has re-listed the following para-sports to the National Sports Festival in Delta State: para-athletics, para-table Tennis, para-powerlifting and deaf sports (of athletics and table tennis).”
He added that the decision was taken in the overall interest of sports development in Nigeria, “as the National Sports Festival has become the flagship Games for the discovery, grooming and empowerment of our youth athletes in Nigeria.”
Nelson however noted that “the ministry condemns the action of some misguided athletes who engaged in unwarranted acts of protests and acts of blackmail without recourse to due process.”
He urged para-athletes to exhaust the channels of communication and processes laid down for airing grievances, rather than go public with their complaints.
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