Ogun State Athlete Receive Camp Allowance

Ogun State Ministry of Youth and Sports, has denied the reports that the state's athletes to the ongoing National Sports Festival tagged EKO 2012 Games are yet to be paid their camp allowances as the Ministry said all athletes have been receiving their camp allowances since Sunday, 2nd of December, 2012, at the Federal College of Education,(TECHNICAL) Akoka.

 The athletes have promised to boycott the 18th National Sports Festival if the State's Government fails to pay them the sum of four thousand naira each today (Monday) as the move could jeopardize the state's quest of being rated among the best five states on the medals table of the EKO 2012 Games.

 Its Public Relations Officer, Rotimi Ogunniyi, in an interview with our correspondent, said each of the state's athletes had been paid the sum of four thousand naira in a bid to encourage them to excel and also to keep in line with Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, vision of wholistic development of sports in the state.

Ogunniyi, said the Ministry of Youth and Sports promised to give each athlete selected for the 18th National Sports Festival the sum of three thousand naira as camp allowance per day based on the budget submitted to the Governor but the trend changed when the state Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, visited the athletes to bid them farewell to the EKO 2012 Games as he made a promise of additional one thousand naira each to the athletes to the Games, making it four thousand naira to be paid to each athlete.

 The PRO, said the Ministry wrote an official letter to the Governor's office requesting for the approval of additional one thousand naira, promised by the Governor because it was included in the budget forwarded to the Governor for approval ahead of the Games tagged EKO 2012.

 According to him, the Governor promised each athlete the sum of one thousand naira in addition to the Ministry's three thousand naira making Four thousand naira for an athlete representing Ogun State at the Games, adding that the initial amount of three thousand naira would have been paid to the athletes since but the athletes declined to accept the money claiming that the Governor made a promise of four thousand naira and not three thousand naira which the Ministry of Youth and Sports was ready to pay.

He said the delay in releasing the extra one thousand naira promised by the Governor was as a result of bureaucratic nature of Government as he explained that the state Government had released the money and it has been paid to over five hundred athletes to the Games.