The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has explained why the Nigerian cyclist, Ese Ukpeseraye, had to resort to borrowing a bicycle from the German cycling team to participate in the ongoing Paris Olympics.
It would be recalled that Ese posted on X that her German opponent, Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, lent her a bicycle to race on the tracks in a remarkable display of sportsmanship.
She revealed that she got very short notice to participate in the race.
She later took part in the Keirin and Sprint cycling event on Wednesday but placed sixth, which put paid to her further participation in the competition.
Ese’s post infuriated many Nigerians who slammed the Nigerian government for embarrassing the nation.
Explaining what happened, the Minister said Ese was not meant to compete in the race so no arrangement was needed for a bicycle for her.
He further explained that a country that was meant to be in the race was disqualified at the last minute, creating an opening for Nigeria to participate.
He said that it was at this point that Ese had no other option than to use the German contingent Bicycle.
Enoh explained that such bicycles take months to deliver upon making an order and Nigeria would not have been able to meet up.
