Okowa Advocates for Easier Visa Processing for Athletes

Chief Tonobok Okowa, the President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and senior vice-president of the Confederation of African Athletics, has called on foreign missions in Nigeria to facilitate the visa processing for athletes. This appeal follows the challenges faced by Nigerian athletes at Hungary’s embassy, which resulted in the 100m mixed relay team missing the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.

Okowa explained that the issue stemmed from delays by the local organizing committee in sending visa-support letters to the Hungarian Embassy, and despite efforts from officials, including National Sports Commission chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and Nigeria Olympic Committee president Engr Habu Gumel, the situation could not be resolved in time. He described Nigeria's overall performance at the championship as encouraging, especially given the young athletes' achievements.

Okowa emphasized the importance of learning from these logistical issues to prevent future occurrences, particularly with the upcoming World Athletics Championship in China being a priority for the AFN.