Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, has waded into the ongoing crisis rocking the Nigeria Para-powerlifting Federation ahead of the 2020 World Para-powerlifting World Cup in Abuja, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.
The World Cup is billed for Abuja from February 5 to 7.
Powerlifters in Lagos on Tuesday at the National Stadium protested the exclusion of junior athletes for the World Cup, the unceremonious exclusion of national team coach, Are Feyisetan, and the choice of Abuja as a training base for athletes preparing for the championships instead of their traditional gymnasium at the National Stadium in Lagos.
It was learnt that Dare on Wednesday called a re-conciliatory meeting between board members of the NPPF, athletes representatives and staff of the ministry to iron out the lingering issue and seek solutions to the friction that led to the protest.
After the meeting in Abuja, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Gabriel Aduda, ordered athletes to proceed to the training camp in Abuja ahead of the forthcoming World Cup next month.
Kemi Gbadebo and Patience Igbiti, a Para-powerlifting coach, have been instructed to coordinate the movement of the senior and junior athletes in Lagos to Abuja.
The meeting addressed the issues presented by the athletes and it was learnt that it was resolved that both senior and junior powerlifters would feature in the competition.
Head coach Feyisetan would join the team in Abuja but it is uncertain if he had been fully reinstated as part of the coaching crew for the competition.
Our correspondent learnt that there was no official confirmation of his re-installment as the team’s head coach.
Credit: punchng.com
