‘How Can $5,000 Be ₦6 million?’: Nigerian Elite Athletes Accuse NSC of Shortchanging Them
The Guardian is reporting that some Nigerian elite athletes have revealed that officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC) have shortchanged them by paying training grants in naira instead of the dollars originally promised, and at rates far below the official exchange value.
One athlete, who spoke anonymously to The Guardian, said he was stunned to receive ₦6 million as his first-half grant, which the board claimed was equivalent to $5,000.
‘We know the dollar exchanges for ₦1,450, so how can $5,000 be ₦6 million?’ he asked, accusing the board of fraudulent conversion.
Beyond the exchange rate, athletes also allege selective disbursement in the report in The Guardian.
Category A athletes are supposed to receive $10,000, while Category B athletes get less. Yet, many top performers have not been paid, while less accomplished athletes have already received funds.
Sprinter Kayinsola Ajayi, Nigeria’s number one in the men’s 100m and ranked fifth globally, has reportedly written to NSC Director General Bukola Olopade seeking clarification.
In his letter, Ajayi recalled a Tokyo meeting where officials promised adjustments after his reclassification from Category B to Category A.
He insists he has not received his 2026 grant and wants confirmation of his entitlements.
In another report, athletes also accuse the NSC of misplaced priorities.
The commission has paid minors as much as ₦3 million in what critics describe as ‘an unnecessary show of throwing money where it should not be thrown, celebrating mediocrity most of the time.’
Meanwhile, elite performers like Samuel Ogazi, Nigeria’s Paris 2024 Olympics 400m finalist, remain unpaid. Ogazi has yet to receive allowances for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, nor any grants for 2025, and may not have received his 2026 allocation either.
Reacting to the allegations in a chat with The Guardian, Yusuf Alli, head of the Elite Athlete Development and Podium Board, dismissed claims of fraudulent conversion.
‘It is not possible for anybody to be paid ₦6 million in place of $5,000. That is not true. If anybody wants to know how much he is entitled to, he must first of all find out the category he belongs to,’ Alli said.
He explained in The Guardian that the board had streamlined categories from four to two, with differing entitlements, and insisted that payments were handled directly by the finance department.
With mounting complaints from Nigeria’s top athletes, the NSC faces growing pressure to explain its opaque processes and ensure fairness in the distribution of grants meant to support the country’s brightest sporting talents.
