The 2020 Para-powerlifting World Cup kicked off yesterday at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja amid concern in Team Nigeria’s camp, with the president of the Para Powerlifting Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), Queen Uboh-Idris pitching herself against Nigeria.
Queen, who is enmeshed in a face-off with PPFN board members by declaring the tournament her personal project, allegedly attempted to hijack the accreditations meant for Team Nigeria and hand them over to a rival team she put together to challenge Team Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists after the opening ceremony, the minister of Youth and sports Development, Sunday Dare, assured that all eligible Nigerian athletes would be accredited without bias, to brighten the country’s chances of excelling at the event.
“First, my expectation is that every eligible Nigerian athlete will be allowed to participate, nobody presented by Team Nigerian will be denied accreditation,” Dare assured.
“This is about sports and the national interests of Nigeria; hence, I expect a hitch-free World Cup. As you can see, we had a successful opening ceremony.”
Speaking on Nigeria’s medal prospects, Dare enthused that Team Nigeria had always done great, assuring that this year performance would be better than previous outings. “I expect that Team Nigeria will surpass existing records. Our athletes are highly motivated; they are champions and they will do the country proud in the next few days.”
The Para-powerlifting World Cup will run from 5th February to 7th February, 2020 in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the minister has affirmed that preparations for the 20th National Sports Festival billed for Edo state was on track.
According to the special media Adviser to the Minister, John Joshua -Akanji, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the Edo 2020 Sports Festival is working round the clock to ensure that the festival takes place as planned.
The minister is excited by the level of preparations. All efforts are being geared towards Edo state hosting a great festival. From all indications, Edo State is ready to play host to the festival. After several postponements which almost marred the traditional biennial event, no efforts would be spared to make this festival a reality,” the Minister’s aide assured.
