Nigeria paralympic team departs for Rio on Thursday

By Akeem Lawal
THE Federal Ministry of Sports has concluded plans to airlift the team Nigeria Paralympic contingent to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games on Thursday, September 1, 2016.

Paralympic Committee of Nigeria Media Officer, Patrick Ibeh said the team which is made up 23 athletes and 6 coaches plus one athlete’s competition partner would depart the country through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja with an Emirate Airline at 5pm Nigeria time.

Ibeh added that the Federal Ministry of Sports has since made adequate arrangements towards ensuring that team Nigeria athletes competes successfully in Rio.

According to media officer, this they did by dispatching the secretary General of the Paralympic Committee.

Nigeria, Dr. Frank Thorpe and some senior officials of the sports ministry to Rio as advance party ahead of team Nigeria’s arrival on Friday September 2, 2016 for the Games which holds from September 7-18, 2016.

The Minister of Sports Barr. Solomon Dalung charged the athletes to go for Gold and be good ambassadors of the country by competing clean at the Games even as he emphasized on the need for them to be of good behavior and avoid any act capable of tarnishing the good image of the country.

Dalung warned that the sports ministry will not take it kindly with any athlete caught spiking his system with performance enhancing drugs in order to excel.

He stressed that available records showed that Nigeria has in the past been doing well at the paralympic Games especially the last edition held in London, 2012 where she won 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals and Rio 2016 will not be an exception.

Meanwhile, President of Paralympic Committee Nigeria, Monday Emoeghavwe (MON), is optimistic that the team Nigeria Paralympic athletes would not be of any disgrace in Rio.

According to him, the expectations are high and the athletes who are already in high spirit to do the country proud by winning laurels at the Games are set to go.

One of them, Nick Chinedu Emmanuel, a table tennis player said he is not going to Rio to see Marcopollo buses, rather his mission to Brazil is to win gold for Nigeria.

"Yes, there are so many Marcopollo Buses like those of Ekenedili chukwu, Chisco and even De Young Shall Grow Buses in Brazil, but that is not my purpose of going to Rio. My mission is to win gold for Nigeria and by the grace of God; I will come back to Nigeria with a solid gold medal.”

Also sounding optimistic is the powerlifting head coach, Prince Are Feyisetan who has vowed to repeat his London 2012 paralympic Games magic of 6 Gold medals if the lifters adhere to instructions and no biased officiating.

Nigeria would compete in only three sports – para-athletics, powerlifting and table-tennis.