Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, has attributed the recent power outage that disrupted the men’s 10,000m final during the 2024 National Sports Festival (NSF), to a technical glitch at the newly upgraded MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The blackout occurred on Saturday evening, midway through the long-distance race, plunging the stadium into darkness for nearly 20 minutes.
Despite the unexpected situation, the athletes pressed on, completing the race under poor lighting conditions, as Francis James of Plateau State won the event with a time of 30:36:50, but he later voiced concerns that the outage disrupted his pace and denied him a better result.
“It was very difficult to keep going at full intensity once the lights went out,” James said. “I had to rely on instinct and memory of the track. It definitely threw me off, and I know I could have recorded a faster time if everything had gone as planned.”
The men’s 10,000m final was the last athletics event on day two of the festival, which has drawn athletes from across the country for what is widely regarded as Nigeria’s version of the Olympics.
However, at a World Press Conference held in Abeokuta on Sunday, Shehu Dikko provided further clarification. He noted that the stadium, which had undergone recent renovations in preparation for the national games, was still adjusting to newly installed infrastructure.
“Basically, what happened was a technical glitch that can occur with new infrastructure, especially one that’s been operating continuously for several days,” Dikko told journalists. “It was unfortunate that it happened during a live event, but our team resolved it swiftly, which shows that our response systems are functional.”
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Dikko emphasized that while the situation was regrettable, it did not escalate into a full-blown crisis. He also suggested that future editions of the festival could benefit from additional backup systems, including solar power solutions, to ensure uninterrupted energy supply.
“In the long term, we’ll consider contingency plans like solar, depending on the energy load and other technical requirements,” he added. “What’s important is that we learn from this and continue to improve.”
The 2024 edition of the National Sports Festival featured 549 competitive events across a wide range of sports, with 2,150 medals up for grabs — including 626 gold, 626 silver, and 898 bronze.
A significant new feature this year is the Invited Junior Athletes category, designed to expose younger, up-and-coming athletes to national-level competition. This initiative is part of the broader strategy by the National Sports Commission to nurture grassroots talent and build a robust pipeline of future stars for international events.
