VeryDarkMan says Okowa must explain why Ofili is not registered for Paris 2024 Olympics 100m event

Nigerian activist, critic and social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, says Tonobok Okowa, President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, must explain to Nigerians while Favour Ofili has been denied the chance to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics women’s 100m event scheduled to start on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris despite fulfilling all the conditions for participation.

Ofili cried out early Wednesday morning that she was not registered for the blue ribband event despite qualifying to run in the event.

The 21 year old who has competed in more 100m races this season than the 200m and ran two wind-aided times of 10.85 and 10.78 took to her social media page to express her anger and disgust at the incompetence displayed, once again, by the AFN and the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC.

She ran 11.06 at the Nigerian Olympics Trials to secure her place among the 56 athletes that will compete in the event but the AFN, the body responsible for selecting track and field athletes for the Games, bizarrely failed to register her for the event.

‘It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 meters at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for 4 years to earn this opportunity,’ wrote Ofili.

VeryDarkMan, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos, says Nigerians will sign petition to demand for answers from Okowa and the AFN after the nationwide protest starting on Thursday in Nigeria.

‘We are coming for you, Okowa,’ says VeryDarkMan in a video posted on his social media page.

The AFN is yet to officially come out with a statement but a report attributed to the AFN media quoted Samuel Onikeku, the technical director of the federation, as saying that the federation registered Ofili for the event and pushed the blame to the NOC.