Urhobo urges Ogba to quit AFN

Festus Abu

Former Athletics Federation of Nigeria President Toni Urhobo has expressed his disappointment with the country’s declining fortunes in athletics, saying  the government should make haste to save the situation.

The former national coach is upset   that Nigeria again  failed to win a single medal in  athletics  at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after they  returned home empty-handed from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Urhobo said the AFN President Solomon Ogba should take the blame for the country’s  poor run of results in athletics in recent times.

The ex-international said he was disappointed by Ogba’s defence that a lack of funding affected the federation’s preparations for the Rio 2016 Games, saying  the AFN boss, whose tenure expires next year, should apologise to the country.

“Ogba and his team need to apologise to Nigerians and quietly step down and stop aggravating the situation. This is the honourable thing to do,”  the veteran athletics coach told our correspondent online on Wednesday.

 Urhobo insisted a lack of planning, rather than funding denied the country medals  at Rio 2016.

He said, “If I had   the funding Ogba had as it is, we would have been celebrating. It’s always difficult for someone like me to listen to such illogical statements.

“How much are some smaller African countries spending to win medals at the  Olympic Games?   Ogba has no excuse whatsoever for running our athletics aground.

“He may not have had the huge budgets of the United States  or the United Kingdom,  neither does Jamaica, Kenya or Ethiopia. But he had more than enough money to generate a hugely different and effectively positive outcome.”

Urhobo  offered to help the country win medals at major competitions if encouraged.

“I did say that if I had that or even a little less to work with, my PODIUM 2020 PLAN would ensure medals for our beloved nation,”   the former Enugu Rangers fitness coach said.