Minister of sports development John Enoh has addressed concerns after Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye said she got a bicycle from the German cycling team at the ongoing Paris Olympics in order for her to compete.
Enoch said in a statement shared on social media on Thursday night that Team Nigeria qualified for one road race in cycling and prepared for it.
According to him, Ukpeseraye was slotted in at the last minute to compete in keirin and sprint race following the disqualification of a country.
The minister said he was forced to address the matter because the cyclist’s post on social media about it was “grossly misunderstood” as it didn’t seem to give proper context to the matter.
He said, “Abinitio, Team Nigeria qualified for one road race in cycling and prepared for it in terms of training and the appropriate competition equipment. Team Nigeria was fully prepared for this road race until two weeks ago after the Cycling team with the rest of Team Nigeria had already left for the Olympics, that a communication from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was received reallocating additional slots to the Cyclist Federation of Nigeria (Kerin and individual sprint).
“This reallocation to Nigeria was due to the disqualification of a country, leaving Nigeria as the next eligible to make the list of qualified countries to compete. Unfortunately, this additional slot required the use of a different competition equipment in terms of biking.
“For this track race reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used. It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment. To therefore get Ese to compete, the Federation through Ese’s Club in Europe and working with a German owned Company, got a ‘Track Bike’ for our cycler Ese.
“Tomorrow the 9th of August 2024, Ese will race in an individual sprint, the race she originally qualified for.”
