Tonobock Okowa, president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria has promised to grace the maiden Southwest Athletics Secondary Schools Invitational and Relays billed to hold later this month at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Ground in Yaba, Lagos.

Dr Solomon Alao, the Southwest Zonal representative on the board of the AFN told newsmen in Lagos that the AFN president has given his words to be in Lagos for the event.

“The AFN president is delighted that we at the Southwest zone are giving proper definition to grassroots development as it is not the business of the AFN to do it. The states own the athletes and the six states that make up the Southwest zone have decided to unearth more talents that will graduate into the elite pool,” said Alao.

The meeting, one of several lined up by the association towards the development of the sport in the zone will have Olatunde Makanju, a professor of Psychology and chairman of Osun State Athletics Association as chairman.

Reigning Nigeria long jump record holder (8.27m) and two-time World championship and one time Olympics finalist, Yusuf Alli has also been named the competition director for the meeting.

Alli who is also a former African, Commonwealth and World Universities Games champion in the horizontal jump will be in charge of the technical organisation of the Southwest Athletics Secondary Schools Invitational and Relays.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Adegbeingbe, the vice chairman of Ondo state Athletics Association has been named a member of the Technical Committee of the association.

Adegbeingbe, a 200m semifinalist and member of the gold-winning 4x100m relay team to the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia will also be in the team for the technical organisation of the Southwest Athletics Secondary Schools Invitational and Relays in a fortnight.

Also in the Technical Committee to organise the event is Samuel Ademolu Fatunla, a track and field statistician recognised by the International Association of Track and Field Statisticians.

The Southwest Athletics Secondary Schools Invitational and Relays will hold on Friday November 12 with contingent from the five out of the Southwest zone to arrival a day earlier while departure has been fixed for November 13.