2025 NSF: Team Edo official raises concern over medal collation table

Posted : 26 May 2025

The Permanent Secretary of the Edo State Sports Commission, Agharese Patricia Efe-Amenze, has raised concerns about how officials of the Ogun Games’ Main Organising Committee (MOC), responsible for the collation and recording of medals, have been handling the exercise.

Mrs. Efe-Amenze said she is worried about the slow pace and inconsistent manner in which medals won—particularly the gold medals won by Team Edo so far—have not been accurately reflected in the daily official medal table released.

According to her, Team Edo officials have lodged a complaint requesting that the actual medals Edo has won be posted daily. She said that when comparing what Edo has achieved with what is being released daily, and how other states’ medals are being updated correctly, it gives Edo officials reason to be concerned.

Mrs. Efe-Amenze expressed hope that the anomalies observed at the ongoing National Sports Festival tagged Gateway Games 2024 will be corrected soon.

She also raised complaints about issues regarding the feeding of athletes and officiating, stating that the meals served to athletes and their effects on performance is another concern.

The Edo PS spoke with sports journalists at the Baptist Boys High School Indoor Sports Hall, where kickboxing and boxing events were scheduled, when she raised the alarm.

On the discrepancies between the medal table being made public by the MOC and the actual situation on the ground, Mrs. Efe-Amenze said:

“Though we have our own records—thank God we have veterans among us—we are very good at what we do.

“We keep daily records, and when we compare them with what we receive from the MOC, it seems the updates are not done every day. We have gone there to complain, and they assured us that they will definitely update the medals table.

“One would have expected that with the modern technology they claim to be using, collation and prompt, accurate recording of medals should not be an issue,” she questioned.

Regarding the feeding of Team Edo athletes at the Ogun Games fiesta, she disclosed that it is poor.

“I have noticed poor feeding. Some of our athletes have been suffering from stomach issues. The kind of food served to them has not been favorable.

“Iweobi Gift, our beach volleyball athlete, is one of those who suffered. It was like a miracle that she left the medical facility she was rushed to and still managed to play on Friday afternoon,” she said.

Mrs. Agharese Efe-Amenze also revealed that officiating in some areas has been poor.

“At one point in Kungfu, Edo State had to call for intervention from independent judges who prevailed on the officiating officials after an argument that lasted about three hours before our lost points were restored,” she said.

“In some areas, we have not been very pleased with the way referees and judges have been operating. It is my wish that the MOC (Main Organizing Committee) overhaul these areas in the future.

“I am seeing a lot of politics in sports, but it will not help us. We need to work to reduce it. We are talking about sports development so that our children’s dreams will not be crushed. We hope for a better tomorrow for all of us.”

Meanwhile, the Team Edo senior official has expressed confidence in the ability of the team to achieve a podium finish at the Games, maintaining that Edo remains the team to beat.

Efe-Amenze is optimistic that there are still hopes for Team Edo to come out on top.

“The game is still on, so by His grace, we will get more gold medals. We have hope in boxing, gymnastics, cricket, athletics, and others,” she enthused.

Edo has continued to harvest medals daily as they have started winning gold in athletics and gymnastics.

2025 NSF: Team Edo official raises concern over medal collation table

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