· Porbeni queries federation’s move to probe incident

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has threatened to punish officials implicated in the age falsification scandal, which recently drew the ire of World Athletics’ Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU).

The AIU, at the weekend, queried Nigeria for presenting athletes with multiple birth dates during the 2025 African U-18/ U-20 Championships in Abeokuta. If the AFN’s response to the query is not convincing enough, the AIU could sanction Nigeria for cheating in an age-grade championship.

While demanding thorough accountability from AFN over the AIU query, the NSC said, yesterday, in a statement signed by Director of Press, Dr Kehinde Ajayi, that disciplinary measures would be meted out on erring officials.

NSC chairman, Shehu Dikko, expressed displeasure with the AFN and maintained that heads will roll if anybody is found culpable.

“At a time, we are giving no place to age cheats 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 said.

The NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, said the AFN must put its house in order and display true competence and diligence to restore confidence and prevent international embarrassment.

Rising from a meeting with top officials of the AFN, including its Technical Director, Gabriel Okon, and national coaches, Olopade insisted that officials must start paying for their incompetence, especially now that the Commission is clamping down on age cheating in Nigerian Sports.

“We are aware of the query from AIU of World Athletics, and for us at the National Sports Commission, this does not paint the AFN in a good light, and as a Commission, we will not hesitate to come out hard on any official and administrator whom we find culpable for this embarrassment.

“We want to make it clear again to all our Sport Federations, coaches and administrators that our resolution at the last Council of Sports meeting in Calabar to clamp down on age issues will not be compromised, regardless of who is involved.

“Youth competitions are for developmental purposes; therefore, the win-at-all-cost syndrome must stop, and the NSC needs the collaboration of every stakeholder to put this to an end in our Sports.”

The NSC said that it has dropped two athletes from the Team Nigeria camp preparing for the Africa Youth Games expected to start this week in Angola, over age discrepancies.

Meanwhile, former international athlete, Seigha Porbeni, has kicked against moves by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to investigate the AIU’s allegations.

Porbeni, a former Head Coach of the AFN, would rather want the National Sports Commission (NSC) to set a panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

To Porbeni, allowing the AFN to set up such a panel won’t meet the purpose it is meant to solve.

“To me, it is nonsense,” Porbeni said. “How can the same AFN set up a panel to probe itself? It is the duty of the National Sports Commission to set up such a probe panel. We have had similar scandals in the AFN before now. It happened in 2024, and the AFN failed to act. It is embarrassing to the country, and the Federal Government has to do something very fast. The AFN can’t be a judge in its own court.”

Porbeni recommended that the NSC should give the probe panel seven days to complete its report to meet the AIU deadline of January 2026.

The Guardian recalls that the AIU, at the weekend, demanded clear explanations and documentary proof of the real ages of 16 out of 17 athletes that represented Team Nigeria at the 2025 Africa U-18/U-20 Championship in Abeokuta. (The Guardian)

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