By Frankie Omokhua
After the protests embarked upon by Ogun State athletes on Tuesday following the failure of the state government to pay their allowances, the final of the Handball events for Male and Female categories which were fixed for 9am and 11am this Wednesday have been shifted to 2pm and 4pm.
Ogun State male and female teams that qualified for the final refused to take part in continuation of the protest after they locked the gates of the Alake Sports Centre, venue of the match earlier today.
A top sports official in Ogun State who spoke on condition of anonymity said, ” this shame could have been managed if those at the corridors of power in the state had taught it necessary to do the right thing at the right time”.
“How can a host state renege on promises made to the athletes? This is setting a bad precedence”.
“How will athletes ever believe future promises from the government? I weep for our administrators”.
However, the avert more embarrassment and outrage caused by the development, the state government moved quickly on Wednesday morning to pay the athletes N140,000 each instead of the earlier promised N200,000 before the protesters agreed to play the final.
Ogun State female Handball team will face Sokoto at 2pm while the male team will take on Lagos at 4pm.
As at the time of filing this report, players of Sokoto female Handball team have arrived venue of the game.
