National Sports Commission Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko has responded to the stadium blackout that disrupted the men’s 10,000 metres final at the 2024 National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abeokuta, describing the incident as an unfortunate technical glitch.
The race, held at the recently renovated MKO Abiola Sports Complex on Saturday evening, was dramatically interrupted when the floodlights failed midway through.
The athletes were forced to complete the race under minimal emergency lighting, with power only being restored after the event had concluded. Further outages were reported across the venue later that night.
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Despite the confusion, Plateau State’s Francis James managed to hold off the competition and claimed the gold medal in a time of 30:36.50. He later admitted the blackout had disrupted his rhythm, suggesting he could have posted a faster time under normal conditions.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abeokuta on Sunday, Chairman Dikko said:
“It was a technical glitch. This is something that can happen with new infrastructure like this, especially when it has been running continuously for several days.”
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Dikko was quick to commend the response team for restoring electricity swiftly, though he acknowledged the race could not be paused once underway:
“The most important thing is that it was fixed quickly. It didn’t take the whole day to restore power, and that shows the team was prepared. Unfortunately, it happened during a race that couldn’t be stopped.”
Looking forward, the sports commission chief indicated that lessons had been learnt, and improvements are being considered for future editions of the festival:
“In the future, we may consider backup systems like solar power, depending on the stadium’s energy needs.”
Meanwhile, Team Delta have pulled clear at the top of the medals table, reaffirming their dominance at Nigeria’s premier multi-sport event. The defending champions lead with 122 medals (52 gold, 23 silver, 47 bronze), followed by Bayelsa (88), hosts Ogun (78), Rivers (77), and Edo (130 overall but 23 gold).
