11 years after, Onye drags Dalung over N2m bonus

11 years after, Onye drags Dalung over N2m bonus

Eleven years after winning gold at the 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Paralympic champion Lauritta Onye has cried out over the non-payment of an alleged N2m cash reward awarded to her and her late coach, Patrick Anaeto, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, The PUNCH reports.

Onye won gold in the F40 shot put event with a throw of 7.72m on her first attempt. Her closest rival, Lara Baars of the Netherlands, managed a best throw of 6.80m—a European record—but finished almost a metre behind the Nigerian.

In January 2016, during a presidential reception organised to honour outstanding Nigerian athletes, Onye was featured in the official brochure but was not rewarded for her achievement, while athletes and coaches in football, basketball, wrestling, scrabble and powerlifting received cash prizes ranging from N500,000 to N2m each.

In a Facebook post, Onye accused former Minister of Youth and Sports Development Solomon Dalung of failing to redeem the pledge.

“The money is N2m — N1.1m for me and N900,000 for my coach. It was the money awarded to me by the late President Buhari for winning gold at the 2015 World Championship. It was also at the event that the President hosted the 1985 footballers and other sportsmen who represented the country during that period,” Onye told The PUNCH.

Onye maintained that despite being listed among the honourees in the event brochure, she received only a presidential handshake.

“When I was in camp for the Rio 2016 Paralympics, the minister came and I asked him about the money. He promised that I was going to be paid in Brazil. They even offered to pay me there while saying my coach would be paid when we returned to Nigeria.

“But I refused, asking that the money be paid directly into our accounts like every other beneficiary. The minister then told me to remind him when we got back to Nigeria.

“As soon as we returned, I started calling and sending him messages, but he never responded. There was even a time I saw him at the National Stadium in Lagos. He again asked me to call him, but he never picked my calls or replied to my messages.”

Dalung, however, denied Onye’s claims, insisting she was not among those approved for cash rewards during the event.

“Late President Buhari hosted the 1985 Golden Eaglets who won the World Cup. I can remember the hosting of athletes in 2016. Only the Golden Eaglets were given cash; others received presidential handshakes. I don’t know of any athlete that got cash gifts,” Dalung told The PUNCH.

He also distanced himself from the processing of such payments.

“In any case, I have no business with financial administration. That is the responsibility of the accounting officer, the Permanent Secretary and the federation.”

Although Dalung claimed only the 1985 Golden Eaglets were rewarded, checks by The PUNCH showed that the Federal Government also rewarded the 2015 Golden Eaglets, who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Players of Nigeria’s U-16 women’s basketball team, D’Tigers, wrestler Odunayo Adekuoroye, scrabble champion Wellington Jighere and members of the powerlifting team that competed at the 2015 IPC Asian Open International Powerlifting Championship in Kazakhstan were also rewarded during the ceremony, which was held on January 21, 2016, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

When asked if he remembered ever promising Onye that the money would be paid during any of their personal encounters, Dalung said, “I don’t know your understanding of my status. Did she show you any letter of request for the said award? And if not, do not disturb my time of sleep.”

With the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development now split, the sports portfolio is under the National Sports Commission, led by Chairman Shehu Dikko and Director General Bukola Olopade.

The PUNCH has reached out to the NSC to verify the records of athletes and coaches rewarded during the January 2016 ceremony.