The Bayelsa athletes stole the show at the closing ceremony when they carried placard showing their grievances in front of the half full packed stadium at the National Sports Festival.
The show of shame was displayed in front of the Sports minister and highly placed dignitaries who graced the Sports festival
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “Team Bayelsa is stranded in Abuja, Bayelsa will not go back home hungry; pay us our money, His Excellency, we know you love sports come to our rescue”.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved athletes, Victoria Evbotokhai said before the team left for Abuja, the officials of the ministry and sports council promised to pay their allowances.
Evbotokhai told www.aclsports.com that the team Bayelsa was robbed when they arrived Abuja on the opening ceremony.
She said, “The officials of Bayelsa state sports ministry deceived us when we were in Yenegoa. They promised to pay us our allowances that was why we left for Abuja. Since we came, nobody attended to us even when we told them robbers attacked us.
“I missed the Karate event because of the robbery incident and I could not participate in the kick boxing event because of the trauma”.
“We are stranded in Abuja; we do not have where to go. I am using this opportunity to call on the sports loving governor to rescue us from the sports officials. They have finished us in Abuja”, she added.
This is very shameful and annoying, do these people in authority have conscience at all? You treat athletes that way for a festival that you are aware and prepared for.