FCT Athletes Protest Over Unpaid National Sports Festival Allowances

FCT Athletes Protest Over Non-payment of Allowances As athletes smile to the bank to claim cash rewards for medals won at the just concluded 19th National Sports Festival in Abuja, the story is not the same for athletes from the FCT. The athletes from the nation's capital were supposed to have the best of treatment as the hosts, but unfortunately were faced with the worst. Among the ill-treatments suffered, FCT athletes were camped at their Old Parade ground in Abuja with poor care, lack of food, and on most occasions arrive late, while theur environment were unkempt, exposing the them to various illness. In his reaction, Solomon Chibuike, a bronze medalist for FCT in Boxing event, who spoke with our correspondent lamented the non-payment of their allowances plus poor treatment meted out to the FCT representatives at the sporting fiesta. "It is bad and callous on part of the FCT administrators to treat us this way, we were not paid our camping allowances, not well fed and abandoned. I came from Lagos and they said they want to pay us N15,000 how can one cope with that after receiving heavy punches from opponents." BSN sports gathered that FCT athletes were to be paid Fifteen thousand naira (N15,000) by the Social Development Secretary officials. This infuriated the athletes who took to the street on Sunday to display their grievances before they were told to calm down. The angry athletes marched from Old Parade ground camp to Cyprian Ekwensi Art and Culture center, Social and Development Secretary office where their monies are being held up. We also scooped that the festival fund which was released by the FCT ministry few weeks ago is being held up by the Social Development Secretariat (SDS). The FCT Sports Departments whose responsibility is to receive and disburse the funds to the athletes did not have access to the funds. The SDS officials met with the protesting athletes pleaded that the allowance will be increased to Fifty thousand naira (N50,000). Heading this, some of the athletes quickly dropped their banners and went straight to collect the money. After a while, they were convinced and they quietly comply to collect the poor N50,000.