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Cries of joy at the 18th National Sports Festival (Eko 2012) holding in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, have given way to mourning following the sudden death of the leader of one of the state delegations.
Mr. Tayo Yesufu, leader of the Osun State team to the festival and General Manager of the Osun State Sports Council, died yesterday in Lagos of an undisclosed ailment.
His death was confirmed to newsmen by Mr. Biyi Odunlade, the Special Assistant on Sports, Youths and Special Needs to the Osun State Governor.
“It is sad and shocking. We lost Mr. Tayo Yesufu, the General Manager of Sports Council and leader of Team Osun,” Odunlade said.
News of Yesufu’s death immediately soured the atmosphere in the Osun camp and at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, the main venue for the Games.
As previously reported by News Express, over 8,000 athletes are competing in 25 events at the festival, which started November 27 and ends December 9. As at this evening, Delta State was still holding firmly to the top place on the medal table with over 120 medals, followed by Rivers State with less than a hundred.
Photo from the festival website shows boxing action at the Games.
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