We didn’t ask athletes to buy their tickets to Rio – Sports Minister

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung has debunked reports that the Ministry has asked foreign based athletes going to the Olympic Games in Rio to buy their own air tickets. 

In a statement released today, Dalung revealed that the Director, High Performance Angie Taylor has been saddled with the responsibility of arranging for the flights and movement of the foreign based athletes to and from Rio.

“We did not write any mail asking athletes to pay their way to Rio. As the overseers of sports in the country, it is our duty to take care of all our athletes. The letter did not come from us and we will investigate the writer of that letter. It does not represent our stand concerning the movement of athletes to Rio and the writer or anybody asking athletes to buy their tickets to Rio will be investigated. We ask Nigerians and athletes in particular to disregard the mail,” he said.