Ten Nigerian athletes were declared ineligible to compete in the recently-concluded Olympics.
The House of Representatives has resolved to probe the ban of Blessing Okagbere and nine other Nigerian Olympians for failed dope tests during the Tokyo Olympics.
Following a motion by Lawrence Ayeni, the House resolved to summon the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare to appear before the Committee on Sports.
In his motion, Ayeni said the government has failed to improve the status of Nigeria on the doping ranking.
“Huge funds being made available yearly for the Regulatory Agencies in the Sports sector, adequate efforts have not been made to get Nigeria into the category where they would be deemed to have made significant improvements in anti-doping tests,” he said.
The committee was mandated to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the failed doping test to forestall future occurrences.
The minister is to brief the committee on Nigeria’s compliance with extant regulations set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the independent anti-doping arm, Athletics Integrity Unit.
According to a report, the House of Representatives has mandated the Committee on Sports to summon the Minister of Youths and Sport Sunday Dare, over the failed doping tests by Nigerian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
The committee is to investigate the activities of the ministry on the failed doping tests.
The resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Lawrence Ayeni (APC, Osun) on Wednesday.
Ten Nigerian athletes were declared ineligible to compete in the recently-conluded Olympics.
It was reported the suspension of Blessing Okagbare for banned substance of growth hormone.
Ms Okagbare, who is both a world and Olympic medallist, failed an out-of-competition test taken on July 19.
Concerned lawmakers
Moving the motion, Mr Ayeni expressed concerns with the barring of Ms Okagbare and nine other athletes by the Athletics Integrity Unit of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
He stated that “with huge funds being made available yearly for the regulatory agencies in the sports sector, adequate efforts have not been made to get Nigeria into the category where they would be deemed to have made significant improvements in anti-doping tests.”
Consequently, the House resolved that the minister should brief the committee on Nigeria’s compliance with extant regulations set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the independent anti-doping arm, Athletics Integrity Unit;
Also the ministry was urged to put necessary measures in place to ensure compliance with extant regulations at both local and international competitions;
The House mandated the committee to investigate the immediate and remote cause of the failed doping test to forestall future occurrence.
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The minister had apologised for the shameful show at the Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking with journalists after the plenary, Mr Ayeni assured that the committee will not bury the report and will ensure the report is made public.
“We are not going to bury it, when the report comes out, Nigerians will see it,” the lawmaker said.
