Senator John Owan-Enoh, Nigeria's minister of sports development, has admitted that the country's performance in the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics in France fell short of expectations, stating that he anticipated the athletes to win many medals.
He made the statement on Wednesday night while speaking with journalistds in Abuja.
Nigeria sent 88 athletes to compete in Paris, but the team encountered various obstacles, including administrative lapses and poor technical judgments, which contributed to their disappointing performance.
Enoh, who assumed office in August 2023, had boldly said that Team Nigeria would break its best Olympic record, set during the Atlanta 1996 Games.
He made the projection at the Ministerial Strategic Technical Meeting with the sports federation that aimed to prepare Team Nigeria for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
Despite a budget of ₦12 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for the country's participation in the Olympics and Paralympics, with ₦9 billion for the former and ₦3 billion for the latter, Nigeria did not win any medals.
However, Sports Minister Enoh is now denying any responsibility for Nigeria's poor performance, claiming that he was actively involved in the execution of the team's participation in the Games.
He stated that the leaderships of the various 12 Olympic sports federations that Nigeria had qualified for at the Paris Games, which are in charge of selecting athletes, had assured him that Nigeria would win medals based on their projections in various sports.
