The National Sports Commission (NSC) has issued a firm demand for transparency and accountability from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) following age-discrepancy concerns raised by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics.
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The AIU formally queried Nigeria over suspected age irregularities involving several young athletes who competed at the CAA U18/U20 African Championships held earlier this year in Abeokuta.
The development has triggered serious concern within the NSC, which has vowed to clamp down ruthlessly on age cheating across all sports.
NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko did not mince words, describing the AFN’s handling of age-verification processes as unacceptable.
“At a time we are giving no place to age cheat in our sports, this will not be swept under the carpet, I can assure Nigerians. We are determined to get it right from our age-grade competitions,” Dikko declared.
He stressed that any administrator, coach or official found complicit in falsifying ages or failing to conduct proper verification will face consequences.
NSC Director General Hon. Bukola Olopade echoed the Chairman’s stance, saying the AFN must urgently restore credibility through competence, diligence, and strict adherence to global standards.
Rising from a closed-door meeting with AFN’s top brass — including Technical Director Gabriel Okon and national team coaches — Olopade warned that the era of institutional negligence was over.
“For us at the National Sports Commission, this does not paint the AFN in good light. We will not hesitate to come down hard on any official found responsible for this embarrassment,” he said.
“The win-at-all-costs mentality must stop. Youth competitions are for development, not desperation.”
The NSC has directed the AFN to respond immediately and comprehensively to the AIU inquiry in order to protect Nigeria’s reputation globally.
In a further demonstration of the Commission’s zero-tolerance approach, two athletes have already been dropped from Team Nigeria’s camp ahead of the Africa Youth Games in Angola due to unresolved age discrepancies.
The message from Nigeria’s sports leadership is unmistakably clear: age cheating will no longer be tolerated — and accountability has finally arrived.
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