Five Journalists, including Fresh Angle Senior Correspondent, Matthew Omonigho were on Thursday March 28 denied access to the Warri City Stadium for the coverage of the opening ceremony of the maiden African Youth Athletics Competition, AYAC.
The five Journalists who are correspondents of different community newspapers in Delta, Edo and Bayelsa States were stopped by security men while trying to enter the main-bowl of the Warri City Stadium on the guise of not wearing accredited tags, even though banners positioned in strategic parts of Warri made it clear that the gates will be thrown open for spectators wishing to watch the tournament.
Infuriated by the demand for accreditation tag, Fresh Angle Senior Correspondent who was in the Warri City Stadium Wednesday March 27 a day earlier with the intention of covering the opening ceremony supposedly billed for that day before returning Thursday morning March 28 to cover the opening ceremony responded, “I don’t have, I am a press man”. One of the security men replied, “you people cannot go inside, you are supposed to have been accredited”. Not satisfied with the statement from the Security agent, Our Senior Correspondent queried, “don’t put it forth to me that I ought to be accredited, if I may ask, do you know where the accreditation was done? The security man replied, no! But oga you cannot enter, we are working on orders”.
As the drama ensued between the journalists and the security men, Men of the Anti-terrorists Squad of the Nigerian Police Force watched with keen interest. After serious arguments between Fresh Angle Senior Correspondent and the security man, one of the policemen demanded to see the identity card of Our Senior Correspondent and the other journalists which they immediately provided. On confirming their identity, the police officer pleaded with the overzealous security man to allow the five journalists access to the stadium, but he bluntly refused thus resulting to another round of argument.
In the process one self acclaimed media coordinator of the event, identified as Mr. Henry Unini who was passing by, stopped and demanded to know what the issue was. After hearing argument from both sides, he insisted that the five journalists cannot enter the stadium without their accreditation tags. He directed the journalists to go to Hotel Excel in Effurun and be accredited before the commencement of the event.
5minutes later, Mr. Henry Unini’s immediate boss, one Mr. Godwin Akpodonor after listening to the arguments also declared that the journalists cannot go into the stadium.
Meanwhile, an unusual vehicular traffic was noticed in some parts of Warri in the early hours of Thursday March 28 particularly along Ogunu road and NPA Expressway due to the heavy presence of security men who were on a search and stop operation and a sudden repair work under the watchful eyes of security operatives was also being carried out close to the New Port gate end of NPA Expressway.
In another development, the coaches of Sudan and Cape Verde, Mr. Mohammed Hamouda Alimam and Mr. Pascal Dias alongside their athletes have expressed fears that the weather in Warri might affect their performances at the competition.
The coaches and the athletes who spoke exclusively to Fresh Angle during their training at the Warri City Stadium Wednesday March 27 described the Nigerian weather as “too hot”, saying that it makes them sweat too much and get tired very quickly.
A Sudanese Athlete, Mr. Mutwakil Abakar who described facilities at the Warri City Stadium as “classic” appealed to the organizers of the African Youth Athletics Competition to make it a global event, rather than limiting it to just Africa.
Fresh Angle can report that countries whose coaches and athletes were on ground as at Wednesday March 27 are Angola, Guinea, Cote’ de’ Ivoire, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Cape-verde and Mozambique.
A member of Delta State supporters club, Mr. Mamode Ernest Ojegba who spoke to Fresh Angle said the publicity given to the African Youth Athletics Competition is very poor.
Copyright: Fresh Angle International (www.freshangleng.com)
ISSN 2354 - 4104
Sponsored Ad
Our strategic editorial policy of promoting journalism, anchored on the tripod of originality, speed and efficiency, would be further enhanced with your financial support.
Your kind contribution, to our desire to become a big global brand, should be credited to our account:
Fresh Angle Nig. Ltd
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0130931842.
BANK GTB.
×
![]()