Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate for the 2023 elections, has attacked the Federal Government for the country’s terrible performance at the Olympics in Paris, France.
Obi expressed his disgust via a series of posts on his X handle on Sunday.
The previous governor of Anambra state wondered why, despite spending $12 billion, the country failed to win a single medal in any of the events it entered.
“Now that the Paris Olympics 2024 has officially ended and our dear Team Nigeria, despite the huge financial investment made into the project, is returning without a single medal, let me unreservedly register my displeasure with the performance of our team and their handlers,” said the president.
“The rascality and recklessness that have continued to characterise our country’s leadership in practically every field.
“The broad image that has emerged is that our country is a joke, even on a global scale.
“How can one explain that a country like Jamaica spent less than 5% of what we spent on our delegations for the Paris Olympics 2024 yet won up to 6 medals?
“Yet, despite our massive financial investments and sizable contingent, we failed to win a single medal.
“This is over N136 million (about $85,000) spent on each of the 88 Nigerian contingents to the Olympics, and no single medal was won while Jamaica, a nation which spent far less than we did, a total of about $2300 on each contingent, won 6 medals; 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze at the Olympics,” stated Obi.
He criticised the Sports Ministry’s handling of incidents involving athletes Favour Ofili and Annette Echikunwoke.
“Consider the case of Favour Ofili, a Nigerian professional sprinter who trained for years for the 2024 Olympics only to have her name recklessly and incorrectly removed from the list of athletes for the 100m race at the Olympics by Nigerian sporting authorities.”
“What explanation can anyone give for Annette Echikunwoke, a former Nigerian hammer thrower who was irritated by the same rascality of some Nigerian authorities, prompting her to switch allegiance to the United States, where she eventually won a medal in the recently concluded Olympics?
“These same professional athletes were denied the opportunity to represent our country in Tokyo 2020 due to identical administrative carelessness.
“What a country!” Such a shame! When will we put an end to these heinous crimes that consistently deprive our country of wonderful possibilities to effect positive change?” Obi lamented in a sharply worded statement.
The LP flagbearer believed that the funding wasted on the Olympic games might have been better spent in other sectors and ministries, noting that the expenditure “is nearly twice the amount budgeted for the entire Ministry of Science and Technology.”