Para athletes protest alleged marginaliastion in Kwara

• Published On: 24 June 2024 at 20:33

Some Para athletes in Kwara State locked down the state stadium in Ilorin for hours on Monday, alleging that the Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission, Bola Mogaji, was orchestrating the marginalisation of their ranks.

The para-athletes stormed the stadium early Monday, preventing athletes, coaches, and other staff from entering.

The stalemate lasted several hours until a Senior Special Assistant on Special Duty to the Governor, Abdulrazak Jiddah, and a Special Assistant on Security, Moshood Gobir, intervened and brought in police to impose law and order before unfettered entrance to the stadium was granted.

After an hour of negotiating with the dissatisfied athletes, Jiddah agreed to take their complaints to the right authorities.



However, addressing to reporters at the stadium, Teslim Balogun, the state's pioneer Power Lifting champion and protest leader, claimed that Mogaji has completely marginalised the state's special athletes, shutting them out of meaningful jobs with the commission, among other charges.

"He does not have our best interest at heart," he told us.

First, he said that Mogaji abruptly removed Bilikis Abolore, who represented the para-athletes on the KSC board.

"Her stipends have been stopped too," he claimed.

According to him, Mogaji has a history of under-declaring allocations for para-athletic tournaments.

He recalled an incident in 2022 in which the governor allotted N20 million for their competition only to be informed later by the KSC chief that only N10 million was given by the governor.

"What we are paid as stipends is nothing to write home about," he said, accusing Mogaji.

According to him, para-athletes are underpaid and have difficulty finding work in the KSC despite winning state championships.

Kudirat Imam Fulani, the gold medalist in para table tennis at the National Sports Festival and the Value Jet International champion, stated in a similar tone.

"I have not enjoyed the benefit of representing my state," she told me.


Mogaji responded by refuting the claims, stating that the athletes' allegations did not accurately reflect the situation.

The KSC chairman stated that the para-athletes' complaint was the outcome of the commission's restructuring, and that the KSC board, which was formerly divided into two categories: statutory and non-statutory, had been reduced to one.

"The non-statutory where Abolore and some others belong was dissolved leaving the statutory one in place," according to him.

"I have little to no control over their money because their allowances are paid by the Secretary of State Government's office.

"Moreover, the state government won't pay money to board members who are no longer with the commission," she said.

The commission also provided chosen journalists with a list of coaches and athletes now on the commission's payroll, which number 18 in total, despite a state government hiring prohibition.

The list includes Bolaji, the current WSL3 para badminton champion who works as an assistant coach/athlete at KSC.

Others include Abdulkadir Kadir, Rasheed Yusuf, Babatunde Abdulmalik, and Yakubu Abdulwahab, all coaches.

According to the list, 13 other athletes receive stipends from the commission, including Kudirat Omoware Imam, Ganiyu Yunusa, Oyinloye Taiye Tolulope, Abdulmumin Ajarat, Asimau Isiaka Kikelomo, Adisa Aminat, Ibraheem Abubat Ajobi, Yahaya Ayuba, Yahaya Aishat, Olaosebikan Babatunde Rafiu, Suleiman Mariam DanMiegoro, Tunde Adekunle, and SarafaDeen Oye.

The chairman also refuted allegations that he under-declared funds made available for competition.

In response to Governor AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq's accusation of failing to reveal monies granted for competition, the KSC chairman stated, "There was no time that I failed to declare what was made available for any competition."