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| Nigeria’s Oluwatobiloba Amusan celebrates with flag after winning the athletics women’s 100m hurdles final during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast on April 13, 2018. PHOTO: SAEED KHAN/AFP |
There are indications that the cash rewards promised Team Nigeria athletes for winning medals at the just concluded Commonwealth Games(CWG) in Gold Coast, Australia is yet to be paid.
24 medals split into 9 gold, 9 silver and 6 bronze were won by Team Nigeria, and from the breakdown gold medalists were entitled to $5,000, $3,000 was promised for silver medalists, and $2,000 was promised for bronze winners.
On the whole $45,000 should have gone to the 5 gold medalists, $27,000 to the 9 silver medalists and $18,000 shared among the 6 athletes that won bronze which amounts to $90,000.
But investigations show that the Federal government through the National Sports Commission is yet to fulfill its pledge before the team’s departure.
It was also gathered that the athletes were not paid their training grants before they departed Australia.
This has not gone down well with the athletes who were further angered by the fact that their foreign colleagues were each paid $8,000.
The contingents would return home in two batches on Wednesday. The team of 90 athletes and 45 officials would be flown in two chartered Emirates Airlines to Abuja and Lagos respectively.
Nigeria won a total of 24 medals to finish 9th on the table.
