By Uzor Odigbo
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has expressed shock over the disqualification of 10 Nigerian Athletes of further participation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.
A press statement signed by AFN president Chief Tonobok Okowa assured that measures have been put in place to comply with rule 15 of the World Athletics body to mitigate further occurrence.
The statement read this.
“Athletics Federation of Nigeria has put in place appropriate measures to comply with Rule 15 of the Anti-Doping Rules of World Athletics.
He insisted that “All our athletes resident in Nigeria and who qualified for the Olympic Games completed the three mandatory tests.
Most of our top athletes resident in the USA also completed their tests. However, a few athletes in the American collegiate system were tested, but those tests were deemed not to have complied with WADA sample collection and analysis standards.
It must be noted that no Nigerian athlete tested positive for prohibited substances.
Also to note is that 12 top Nigerian athletes have been cleared and are eligible for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The AFN bears responsibility for any lapses that may have occurred during the process and reassures Nigerians that our performances will not be negatively impacted.
The President of the AFN, Okowa has taken proactive steps to avoid future occurrences by appointing Professor Ken Anugweje as the head of the Medical and Anti- Doping Commission of the Federation”