Chairman of the Main Organising Committee for the 2024 National Sports Festival and Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, has announced that eight additional athletes will be expelled from the ongoing competition in Ogun State due to doping violations.
Olopade disclosed during a press conference at the festival’s media centre in Abeokuta on Tuesday, just a day after six athletes were disqualified over similar infractions.
According to the sports chief, the athletes had already been flagged in advance, and their respective states were duly informed before the event.
“Out of the 10,000 registered athletes, we have discovered eight more, and we will name and shame the states. Enough of dirty sports in Nigeria — we have to get it right,” Olopade declared.
Some state officials have denied that the athletes in question were part of their official contingents. However, Olopade countered those claims, insisting that the names were submitted by the states themselves.
“We have evidence that months ago, we notified the states of their athletes with doping records. All the names were extracted from the registration lists provided by the states. If they weren’t bringing them, why register them in the first place?”
Olopade also warned of financial penalties for the implicated states, reiterating the committee’s zero-tolerance stance on doping and malpractice.
Among the six athletes previously disqualified are Nigerian boxing stars Cynthia Ogunsemilore and Dolapo Omole, both of whom had been registered to represent Bayelsa State in kickboxing.
Ogunsemilore, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and an African Games champion, was provisionally suspended after testing positive for furosemide, a banned diuretic, in an out-of-competition test ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Omole, also banned over doping, was disqualified alongside Ogunsemilore.
Others affected include:
- Marcus Okon (Akwa Ibom, Para Athletics)
- Ayabeke Opeyemi (Bayelsa, Gymnastics)
- Kareem Shukurat (Lagos, Kickboxing)
- Animashaun Sofia (Lagos, Para Powerlifting)
The Main Organising Committee has vowed to continue rooting out violators to uphold the integrity of the National Sports Festival.
