Olympian Itanyi Blasts AFN Over Athlete Welfare and Conflict of Interest
Former African heptathlon champion and Olympian Patience (Pat) Itanyi has condemned the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for what she described as the continued ill-treatment of Nigerian track and field athletes.
Her criticism follows protests by athletes at the Commonwealth Games camp in Asaba, Delta State, over unpaid allowances and poor living conditions.
Athletes at the camp complained of inhospitable conditions, with reports that coaches had to pay out of pocket to access gym facilities for training.
The AFN later admitted to delayed payments but insisted that athletes and coaches had been settled. According to the federation, athletes received ₦100,000 for transport and ₦75,000 as camp allowance, while coaches were paid ₦100,000 each for transport and another ₦100,000 as camp allowance.
Itanyi, a former NCAA outdoor champion in the long jump, described the federation’s response as shameful.
‘When are we going to have a Federation that makes the welfare of athletes as their priority and not one that think they are doing athletes any favour,’ she asked.
The 2000 Sydney Olympian also criticized the paltry sums paid to athletes and coaches for six weeks of camping.
‘By paying athletes ₦75,000 as allowance for 42 days, the AFN is actually paying each athlete less than ₦2,000 a day. That is not even up to one dollar a day,’ she said.
Itanyi further raised concerns about the use of a hotel owned by a top federation official for the camp, calling it a clear conflict of interest.
‘This is conflict of interest unless it is given out free but I understand that was not the case. The owner, I learnt, removed money for the full board accommodation before releasing the remaining amount for payment of transport and camp allowances to the athletes and the coaches. It is thus safe to conclude that the official profited from the camping at the expense of the athletes,’ she added.
She revealed that it was only after athletes staged a protest that the federation and the National Sports Commission (NSC) released the meagre payments.
She also disclosed that athletes and officials who qualified Nigeria’s men’s 4x100m relay team for the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, and camped at the same hotel in Asaba, have still not been paid.
‘Just like me, I am still owed allowances by the AFN long after I retired from the sport. When are we going to have Federation that understand how to manage athletes and run the Federation,’ she asked.
