Tonobok Okowa, the president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), says Favour Ofili is “old enough to decide what’s best for her” and will not be stopped if she opts to switch allegiance to another country.
On Sunday, reports circulated on social media that the 22-year-old sprinter has written to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for a change of nationality.
According to the reports, the 150-meter world record holder cited the frustration she suffered at the hands of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in recent international competitions as reasons for the switch.
However, checks on the World Athletics (WA) website show that Ofili remains a Nigerian athlete.
In a statement, Okowa stated that he was unaware of Ofili’s switch and had only learned of the development through the media.
He said the AFN is yet to receive “any correspondence from World Athletics (WA)” or the athlete herself.
“If this is true, it is sad, disheartening and painful but we are yet to get any official statement from her or any correspondence from World Athletics (WA), on her request. She is a promising athlete with huge potential,” the AFN president said.
“The AFN and the National Sports Commission (NSC) have been working hard to get athletics and other sports in the country back on track and to show that both bodies are matching goals, objectives and words with action. Favour Ofili had already been paid her training grant for this year.
“From the moves we have been making to get her fully prepared and back to the big athletics family, and her response, it’s also clear that she had been preparing and working on her newfound Turkish love. She is old enough to decide what’s best for her, but it’s painful and hard to take for us; however, we will not stop her. She is still our child, sister and daughter.”
‘AFN: OFILI DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH’
Okowa said Ofili has prevented the federation from reaching her since the Paris Olympics, adding that all attempts to “heal the wounds” proved futile.
The federation said, despite being one of Nigeria’s best athletes in recent years, Ofili is “difficult to deal with”.
“Despite our own inadequacies, on several occasions she shunned the national trials, and even when she came, she selected the events she preferred to compete in,” the statement reads.
“No doubt Ofili is one of best our athletes in recent times but she is difficult to deal with.
“The AFN has its issues, but we are getting along well with other top athletes and are still thriving within the system. We wish her well in whatever she is doing and wherever she is going.”
Ofili represented Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her performance was impacted by the omission of her name from the women’s race by the AFN after she had qualified for the event. She would eventually participate in the women’s 200m, where she reached the final and finished sixth.
Ofili was among the ten Nigerian athletes who missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to AFN’s failure to meet mandatory anti-doping requirements.
Ofili’s rumoured switch is not the first time an athlete has defected from Nigeria to another country due to frustration with the AFN.
Gloria Alozie, Francis Obikwelu, and Femi Ogunode switched from Nigeria to Spain, Portugal and Bahrain, respectively, in the 2000s.
The latest was Annette Echikunwoke, who switched to the US and won silver in the women’s hammer throw at the Paris Olympics.
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