The Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has clarified that the federation managed to secure a bicycle at the last minute for Nigeria’s cyclist, Ese Ukpeseraye, to compete in the keirin and sprint events, countering earlier reports that the Ministry of Sports failed to provide her with the necessary equipment at the ongoing Olympics in Paris.

Earlier reports suggested that Ukpeseraye had no bicycle to race with and had to borrow one from a German cycling team.

“Due to the short notice of my participation in the keirin and sprint events, #teamNigeria, I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks,” Ukpeseraye posted on her X handle on Thursday.

“In the spirit of sportsmanship, the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle. Thank you,” she added.

Her post has since generated a public backlash.

However, in a clarification post on Friday, the sports minister stated that Ukpeseraye’s explanation lacked the proper context.

He explained that the notification for her participation came in at the last minute, which led to the initial lack of the required bicycle.

He added that the federation, through Ukpeseraye’s club in Europe and with the support of a German-owned company, managed to secure a track bike for her.

In a post on X, he wrote, “My attention has been drawn to a social media post by Ese Ukpeseraye. After reading the post and some of the subsequent comments, I took immediate action.

“Ese’s post appears to have been grossly misunderstood, possibly because it did not provide the appropriate context for the situation at hand.

“It is important to make some clarifications. Initially, Team Nigeria qualified for one road race in cycling and prepared accordingly, both in terms of training and acquiring the necessary competition equipment.

“Team Nigeria was fully prepared for this road race until two weeks ago when, after the cycling team had already left for the Olympics with the rest of Team Nigeria, a communication from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was received, reallocating additional slots to the Nigerian Cycling Federation (for keirin and individual sprint).

“This reallocation to Nigeria was due to the disqualification of another country, leaving Nigeria as the next eligible country to compete.

“Unfortunately, this additional slot required different competition equipment, specifically designed for track cycling.

“For this reallocated track race, special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track events) is required. It would take months to have it delivered after placing an order and making payment.

“To ensure Ese could compete, the federation, through her club in Europe and in collaboration with a German-owned company, secured a ‘track bike’ for her.

“Tomorrow, 9th August 2024, Ese will compete in the individual sprint event, the race for which she originally qualified.”