Reports say the 2015 All Nigeria Athletics Championships has been shifted to Warri, Delta state after the Cross River state government failed to host the 69th edition of the event.
According to Bamiduro Olumide, the secretary-general of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), who spoke in a recent interview with the Punch, the Cross River government has sponsored four editions of the championships at the U. J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar after signing a five-year sponsorship deal with the AFN.But the AFN had to make an alternative arrangement so as not to be caught napping since the events are an important fixture in the national athletics calendar after the 2015 edition of the CRS/AFN trials was billed for July 30 to August 1 in Calabar.
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“It appears the sponsorship this year is gloomy. We have not heard anything from them unlike the situation from the previous four editions.
“They (Cross River State Government) usually reach out to us at least one month to the event. We have a sponsorship agreement with them. We have written to them and even sent some representatives but we have not heard from them.
“If they are not doing so this year, it means the state government has reneged on their agreement. Maybe the new government’s main focus is not sports. We are also aware that the state government is not well disposed to host the 2015 edition of the Obudu International Mountain Race.
“They may have their reasons but that is rather unfortunate. However, we still thank them for their sponsorship so far because it is not easy. In the interim, we are looking elsewhere to host the 69th edition of the championships,” Bamiduro stated.
In a related development, Nigeria has been performing exceptionally well at the on-going Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles.
Teju Ogunlela and Adebiyi Olatunji won silver medals in swimming while Damola Roberts won gold medals.
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