By Seyifunmi Odunuga
Athletes that represented Oyo State at the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival held in Benin where Oyo placed 6th with 103 medals are groaning over the inability to receive the cash promises made by the Governor of the state, Engr. Seyi Makinde three months after the reception held for the medalists at the governor’s office.
The governor did promise to reward a gold medalist with 500 thousand naira 350 thousand for silver medalist and 250 thousand for each bronze medalist, while coaches will get 500 thousand each when he receives the state’s contingents to the last festival in his office on April 21 2021.
Gov. Makinde pledged to facilitate the payment within two weeks after his pronouncement but till now according to the athletes, no kobo was received from the accountant general of the state that is in a position to effect the payment.
This development has dampened the morale of the athletes with a great negative impact on the psyches as it was evident and written on the faces of most Oyo athletes who spoke with the writer on condition of anonymity.
It will be recalled that the governor while hosting the winning contingents of Oyo State in his office said “whatever pronouncement I will make now will be fulfilled within two weeks as we’re not going to promise you what we can do”.
“When we came in as an administration, we saw a file of 2018 festival and discovered several promises made to you by the past administration, and we investigated why those promises never fulfilled and we found out that there was no intention from day one to fulfil those promises because there is a process that should be taken to fulfil those promises.
“For instance, if I promised you, the process is to start with the first approval, second approval and the third one while the morning will be paid but there was no step taken. But we picked it up and within the limited resources available to us; we fulfilled some certain percentage we could.
He added that provisions for all their allowances, if it has not been paid, has been made and it’s probably pending with the accountant general, but contrary to these claims the athletes said they are yet to get anything.
The Governor however had a good intention with the spate of huge sporting infrastructural development presently going on in the state after he assured that Oyo State will continue to encourage its athletes which made him set a target of 100 gold medals in the next sports festival saying every step that will make him realized that vision will be put in-place.
