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Dimming career: Amusan’s name left out of World Athletics Championships list

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Evidence of a dim in the sterling career of Tobi Amusan, current holder and record breaker of the world women’s 100m hurdles champion, has emerged with the conspicuously absence of her name from Team Nigeria’s list of 26 athletes to the World Athletics Championships, released on Tuesday by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN)..

The list includes, which has11 male and 15 female athletes for the championships, slated for Budapest, Hungary, from August 19 to 27, has Ese Brume, a silver medalist at last year’s championships, Ruth Usoro, long jump, Sade Olatoye (Hammer) and Chioma Onyekwere (Discuss) as part of the notable names on the list.

The list also had Usheoritshe Itshekiri, Favour Ashe, Seye Ogunlewe, Alaba Akintola, Fakorede Adekalu, and Anunagba Karlington, slated for the men’s 100m and relay races, while Rosemary Chukwuma, Favour Ofili, Faith Okwose, Justina Eyakpobeyan, and Success Umukoro will compete in the women’s 100m and relay.

The Nigerian association, is said to be still waiting for word on Amusan’s fate, after her participation in the championship was called into question following the news that she was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) one month before the competition for failing three drug tests this season.

While the AIU also stated that a hearing on her case would be held prior to the World Championships, she also vowed to fight the charges and prove her innocence, but nothing has been heard about the proceedings with only 10 days until this year’s championships.

The PUNCH, quotes Samuel Onikeku AFN’s Technical Director, as saying that only the AIU could provide an update on Amusan, adding: “The list has been perfected and released.” However, only the AIU can comment on Amusan’s case.”

The paper also quoted another source at the federation as Amusan’s name was included on the list sent to World Athletics in the hope that the hurdler would be cleared to compete before the championships began, adding: “She is on the entry list sent to the World Athletics; they cannot remove it because AIU has not taken a decision on her.

“If they remove it now and they say she is free to compete, she might not be able to go again, so the best way is to leave her name there. If they say she is free to compete, fine, if she is not free to compete, they can remove it. But in the meantime, her name is on the entry list submitted to the World Athletics.”

Last year in Oregon, USA, the Nigerian made history by setting a new world record time of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals before running 12.06 seconds in the final to win gold and become Nigeria’s first world champion and record holder in athletics.

Prior to her suspension, the 26-year-old had been in excellent form, setting a new season’s best of 12.34 seconds at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Poland in July to win her second consecutive race of the season, and she also won at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in Hungary the same month.

 

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BREAKING: Mother of all strikes! D-Day, October 3! *Stockpile food, essentials – NLC, TUC   

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday, announced midnight Tuesday, October 3 as the date for the commencement of total strike by their workers to get the Federal Government accede to their demands to end the current sufferings of their members and Nigerians at large.

The two labour centres representing the organised labour in Nigeria, which arrived at the decision after they had met separately at their local levels directed their affiliates to mobilise for protests from October 3, saying they took the decisions were approved at the meeting of the joint National Executive Council of the two unions on Tuesday, September 26, in Abuja.

Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, speaking on behalf of his group, while urging Nigerians to stock their homes ahead the total strike, bemoaned the situation where the government had ignored the demands of the workers, saying it “substantially failed to meet its demands after the removal of fuel subsidy,” added that adding that the grace period given by the two labour centres had expired.

The organised labour, is demanding wage awards for public workers and a new minimum wage, apart from the removal of tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers, provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, the release of modalities for the N70billion for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the Federal Government.

The union, which on September 5th and 6th, the NLC embarked on a two-day warning strike which led to the partial crippling of economic activities in some states and gave the government a 21-day ultimatum to meet its demands, is also demanding a stop to the increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salaries of university teachers and workers as well as the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT).

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BREAKING: Total strike looms! *NLC, TUC, finally meet, agree on action

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The Federal Government, may have finally lost the move to stop the impending strike by organised labour, or at least mitigate it by dividing its membership, following a meeting of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), hitherto in disagreement over the issue.

In fact, the two bodies representing the junior and senior workers in Nigeria are reportedly meeting currently to announce a statewide indefinite strike, a move coming about three weeks after the NLC held a warning strike on Tuesday, September 5, and Wednesday 6, 2023, without the TUC, which it explained was to call attention of the FG to the painful suffering of Nigerians, particularly workers.

However, indications, suggests that having agreed to come to an understanding in the interest of the working masses of Nigeria, both camps, having also met separately in their different local organs, decided to hold a joint press conference at 3 p.m. on Tuesday to announce an indefinite nationwide strike in response to the FG’s failure to address the suffering and other socioeconomic hardships caused by the removal of subsidies on Premium Motor, PMS, commonly known as petrol.

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Tinubu will shock Atiku and his gang – APC *Why meeting with Biden didn’t hold

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Having met with Joe Biden, at a parley of the G20 group in India, it was unnecessary for President Bola Tinubu to hold another session with his US counterpart at the recent United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the All Progressives Congress (APC), explained on Monday.

Felix Morka, spokesman of the party, in a statement, also explain other issues in a quick riposte to the attacks of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who claimed that the POTUS avoided Tinubu at UNGA because he did not want to be associated with the putrid stains trailing his Nigerian counterpart.

Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the party, also dismissed Atiku’s claims through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu that fuel subsidy, which the Tinubu administration said it has jettisoned having dismissed it as a drain on the nation’s resources, had returned through the backdoor, saying the payment of the mark up in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in August, was to ensure stability.

Hear him: ”Shaibu’s claim that fuel subsidy is back is not correct. The government’s intervention to ensure some measure of price stability and predictability does not amount to the return of the ruinous fuel subsidy of the recent past.

“Lifting the Visa ban on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should ordinarily make any well-meaning Nigerian happy. Diplomatic rapprochement between Nigeria and UAE authorities is ongoing and details of outcomes will soon be made public.

“The matter of the proposed meeting with United States of America President Joe Biden does not even require elaboration. Having met with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the G-20 Nations summit in India, another meeting with President Biden during the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) had become unnecessary and was not even on President Tinubu’s schedule, contrary to preliminary indications on the matter.

“Nigeria is facing pressing challenges that require focused efforts and undivided attention. Issues such as economic recovery, security of lives and property, infrastructure development, and social welfare demand continuous, sustained and innovative efforts.

“President Tinubu is committed to ensuring an inclusive, honest, transparent and accountable governance system. We encourage citizens to actively participate in democratic processes, ventilate their views, and contribute constructively to national conversations. As the discerning people that we are, we remain confident that Nigerians will continue to differentiate between genuine, constructive and development-oriented criticisms and those driven by self-interest, mercenary considerations and disruptive political agenda.

“While we urge Nigerians to ignore purveyors of fake news and other inanities, it is obvious that Shaibu and his likes will stop at nothing in their desperation to distort facts and give oxygen to their politically knocked-out principal. But that can only worsen his infamy in the light of the President’s determined commitment and strides to improving the social and economic conditions for all Nigerians.

“The PDP and all its agents of misinformation should know by now that no amount of sleazy propaganda, muckraking, lies, half-truths, misrepresentations, misinformation or disinformation will confer the presidency of Nigeria on their candidate.

“Nigerians have freely chosen our party, the APC, and President Bola Tinubu, to continue to steer the ship of state. And the President is making good his campaign promises to deliver purposeful leadership to remake Nigeria, open the economy to rewarding investments, promote inclusive growth, create jobs, secure lives and property and renew hope for a vibrant future.”

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