Abdulazeez Abdulwahab
MINISTER of Sports, Senator John Owan Enoh, has clarified issues surrounding the alleged non-provision of a bicycle to Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye, who is the first-ever athlete to represent Nigeria in cycling at the Olympic Games.
Ese Ukpeseraye had alleged via a post on social media that: “#teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In the spirit of sportsmanship, the German Team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.
Thank you.
– Nigerian Cyclist, Eze Lovina
However, reacting to the development, Minister Enoh explained that the cyclist’s post was grossly misunderstood, “perhaps also because it didn’t seem to give proper context to the matter in perspective.”
According to the minister, Team Nigeria qualified for one road race in cycling and prepared for it in terms of training and the appropriate competition equipment. He said the team was fully prepared for this road race until two weeks ago after the cycling team with the rest of Team Nigeria had already left for the Olympics, when a communication from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was received reallocating additional slots to the Cyclist Federation of Nigeria (Kerin and individual sprint). 
This reallocation to Nigeria, he stressed, was due to the disqualification of a country, leaving Nigeria as the next eligible to make the list of qualified countries to compete.
“Unfortunately, this additional slot required the use of a different competition equipment in terms of biking.
“For this slot reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used. It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment.
“To, therefore, get Ese to compete, the Federation through Ese’s Club in Europe and working with a German-owned Company, got a ‘Track Bike’ for our cycler Ese.
“Tomorrow the 9th of August 2024, Ese will race in an individual sprint, the race she originally qualified for”, Minister Enoh stated.
Eighteen-Eleven Media