Kwara Athletes on Friday took to the streets and barricaded the entrance to the state Ministry of Sports and Youth Development in Ilorin to demand for their unpaid camp allowances ahead of the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Edo.
The athletes also vowed to boycott the Edo 2020 sports fiesta if their demands were not met.
They used one of their vehicles to barricade the entrance to the ministry, thereby denying people entry into the premises.
Usman Kudus, one of the athletes who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the athletes were also rejecting the N1000 per day promised by the ministry.
“They are telling us, they will pay us but we are very sure they will short pay us which we don’t want. We want them to pay us more than the seven days the ministry booked for us,” Kudus said.
He said that the athletes were demanding that their allowance be increased to N3000, or they would boycott the fiesta so that the state would be forced to pay the fine for not appearing at the festival.
The state Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mrs. Joana Kolo, who addressed the protesters, asked them to be patient and allow the ministry to resolve the matter amicably.
She promised that their demands would be looked into and the ministry would revert to them in a few days time.
