Rio Ticket Scandal: Solomon Dalung summons Secretary-General of Athletics Federation of Nigeria

Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has summoned the Athletics Federation of Nigeria’s Secretary-General Olumide Bamiduro and staff of the Federation of Elite Athletes Department, over the ticket scandal that rocked his sports ministry over the weekend.

A mail was purportedly written by the AFN Secretary Olumide Bamiduro and sent to Athletes, asking them to send an estimate of what their ticket to Rio may cost, with an assurance that refunds will be given to them if approved by the ministry.

The Minister has since washed his hands off the viral mail, stating that he had neither instructed anyone to push such information nor even muted such to FEAD.

Part of the statement reads,
“I hereby restate that no athlete has been authorized or asked to buy his or her ticket to the Olympic Games.

Whoever that wrote the letter did so on his or her own accord without due consultation with the overseer of sports in the country which is the Ministry of Youth and Sports. We are totally committed to the welfare of our athletes and will ensure that they are not psychologically affected by distractions caused by this letter.’’

In a related development, athletes will start moving to the Games village in Rio on August 1, 2016.