Nigerian Para athletes who featured at the maiden West Africa Zone A and B Para Games in Abeokuta, Ogun State, have complained about delays in the payment of their competition and transport allowances.
The regional multi-sport event, held from November 28 to December 4, 2025, featured over 400 athletes from 10 West African countries.
Nigeria hosted the competition, and had 190 athletes. Nigeria emerged overall champions with 59 Gold, 39 Silver and 31 Bronze medals.
Benin Republic came second with four gold, four silver and 14 bronze medals, while Ghana finished third with three gold, 15 silver and 21 bronze medals.
Sadly, despite the historic success achieved by Nigerian representatives at the event, several athletes said more than a month after the competition, they were yet to receive their full entitlements.
Some claimed they had not even been paid their transport allowances.One athlete, who spoke anonymously, said there was no clear agreement on allowances before the competition and alleged that the federations were not fully involved in discussions.
The athlete said the team was camped at the RCCG camp, with no prior training camp and no clarity on welfare arrangements.
Another athlete confirmed that some participants received N50,000 as transport allowance, while others did not, adding that there was still no information on when competition allowances would be paid.
The athletes also criticised the overall welfare structure for para athletes, saying government support should go beyond hosting competitions and procuring equipment.
They called for a purpose-built games village where athletes could train and stay for extended periods, noting that existing facilities were inadequate for proper preparation.
In the 2026 budget, the National Sports Commission allocated N1.28bn for special programmes for disabled athletes and officials, as well as the third Para Games, while N1.175bn was earmarked for the procurement of sports equipment, including wheelchairs and crutches.
However, the athletes said the impact of such allocations would only be meaningful if visible improvements were made in training conditions and athlete welfare.
Reacting to the complaints, President of the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria, Sunday Odebode, assured that the athletes’ allowances would be paid on or before the following week. He said even athletes who were in camp but did not compete, including para-swimmers, would also receive their allowances.
Odebode added that preparations were already underway for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, noting that the committee would intensify preparations from February.
