NSC Clarifies N21,000 Payment Was Food Stipend, Not Camp Allowance

The National Sports Commission has clarified that the N21,000 paid to athletes returning from the African Youth Games was not a camp allowance but a stipend meant only to cover food expenses on their way home.

The payment sparked confusion after Aku Aghazu, a member of the Elite Podium Performance and second vice president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, claimed the money was for camping allowances.

Aghazu, whose eligibility as an AFN board member has been questioned by stakeholders, had disclosed what athletes and coaches were due but did not reveal what she and other NSC officials received.

According to reports, athletes are entitled to the equivalent of $100 per day in estacode for 10 to 12 days of foreign travel, while coaches are due $150 per day for the same period.

NSC Chairman Dikko, however, stressed that the N21,000 was simply a travel stipend and insisted that athletes and officials are fully aware of the allowances and bonuses that will accrue to them.

‘When the athletes arrived, they were all given flight tickets back to their respective destinations and the 21k was just stipend for food on the way home. Those full allowances are being sorted and I believe some could’ve started getting it now,’ he explained.

Dikko dismissed suggestions of a communication breakdown, pointing out that athletes who had previously participated in the African Schools Sports Games in Algeria were already familiar with the process. He reaffirmed the Commission’s ‘Athletes First’ policy, stressing that welfare is not taken lightly at the NSC.

Critics, however, have drawn attention to the Commission’s handling of athletes and coaches at the African U18 and U20 Championships in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last May.

On that occasion, athletes reportedly received less than the equivalent of $150, while coaches were paid less than $100 despite spending almost a month in camp and competition.