Delta 2022: Sports ministry reverses decision, relists paralympic sports

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has reversed its decision on delisting paralympic sports from the forthcoming National Sports Festival. It will be recalled that prior to the virtual meeting of the National Council on Sports held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, it was decided that para sports be removed. This caused an […]

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has reversed its decision on delisting paralympic sports from the forthcoming National Sports Festival.

It will be recalled that prior to the virtual meeting of the National Council on Sports held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, it was decided that para sports be removed.

This caused an uproar within the para sports community as athletes went on protests in Lagos.

However, in a statement signed by the Director, Press & Public Relations, Mohammed Manga, “The ministry in consultation with stakeholders in sports hereby relists Para Sports to the National Sports Festival in Delta State, which includes the Para Athletics, Para Table Tennis,  Para Powerlifting and Deaf Sports of (Athletics and Table Tennis).

“However, the ministry wishes to state that their events will be limited to where Nigeria has competitive advantages.

“This 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.

“The ministry condemns the behaviour of some misguided athletes who engaged in unwarranted acts of protests and blackmail without recourse to due process.

“These actions, which led to the disturbance of public peace and the good image of sportsmen and women, especially with the recent public acceptance of the superlative performance of Team Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games is a breach of our Sports Ethical Code,” the statement said.