N3bn High Performance Fund Diverted- Solomon Dalung

Following the poor performance of Team Nigeria at the just-concluded Olympic Games in Brazil with the country winning just one medal (bronze) at the games, the Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has disclosed that part of he problem that resulted in the poor showing at the games was the disappearance of N3bn budgeted for the High Performance Centre which was suppose to help keep the athletes at their optimum shape for competitions.

He said, “I am aware that up to N3bn was approved for the High Performance Centre long before we came but it is a mystery how that money was used. I just couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen.

“The money not just to equip the centre but was also meant to cover the salaries of the experts we brought in work with the athletes but they found a way to spend the money. They wiped everything such that we are now paying the experts from our overheard cost rather than the money actually meant for that. It is as bad as that, I mean what we met on ground. So you can see how long this problem started.

“It could have been a lot much better. So this is why we have to struggle with funding when it should not be.”

It was not readily explained what has happened to those entrusted with the funds or if any investigation was carried out to explain exactly how some of the cash developed wings.

A coach who also made an allusion to the reckless spending by those concerned said the athletes should never have complained the way they did if the officials were really accountable.

“Why won’t athletes go to other countries? All the funds they are talking about didn’t walk away; people diverted them. But the painful thing is that many of those who know what went wrong with the funds are in Rio here with us too murmuring or their cronies are here. We didn’t need to go down this far,” he said.