Team Nigeria will depart for Ghana today ahead of the 2026 African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, with a 41-athlete contingent set to represent the country at the six-day competition beginning on Tuesday, The PUNCH reports.
According to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, the delegation will travel through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos for the championships scheduled to run from May 12 to 17, while a number of the foreign-based athletes have already arrived directly in Accra.
Nigeria’s contingent comprises 17 male and 24 female athletes who will compete across 26 track and field events at the continental showpiece.
The team will be led by AFN president Tonobok Okowa, while 10 technical officials are also expected to accompany the athletes.
The squad is made up of a mixture of foreign-based and home-based athletes under the supervision of AFN technical director Gabriel Okon and national head coach Solomon Aliyu.
Other coaches travelling with the contingent include Olu Sule, Deji Aliu, Gabriel Opuana, Kolawole Adebayo, Saheed Akinpelu, Mavuah Esabunor, Pade Lawal and Henry Okorie.
World record holder Tobi Amusan headlines Nigeria’s challenge in the women’s 100m hurdles, while other top athletes on the roster include sprinter Rosemary Chukwuma, sprint star Favour Ashe, quarter-miler Chidi Okezie, discus thrower Obiageri Amaechi and hammer throw specialist Oyesade Olatoye.
The team also includes several young athletes who featured for Nigeria at the recent World Relays in Gaborone, among them Godwin Tejiri, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Nwankwo and Toheebat Jimoh.
Nigeria will also compete in middle and long-distance events as part of the federation’s renewed push in those categories.
Comfort James will represent the country in the women’s 800m, while rising distance runner Aderonke Akanbi is entered for both the women’s 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase events.
In the men’s category, Gang James Boyi, who has dominated local 10km races over the last year, will compete in the 1,500m and 5,000m events.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s hopes of strengthening their medal chances at the championships in have suffered a slight setback after decathlon national record holder Jami Schlueter and African shot put record holder Jessica Oji were ruled out of the competition.
The PUNCH gathered that Schlueter will be unavailable due to visa-related complications that will prevent him from travelling to Ghana for the championships.
AFN president Tonobok Okowa had earlier admitted that the federation was battling to secure travel documents for some of its foreign-based athletes, particularly those based in the United States.
Speaking to our correspondent on Nigeria’s preparations for the championships, Okowa explained that the federation was working to resolve travel issues affecting athletes with American passports and others based abroad.
“We are looking at how soon we can get some of the foreign-based athletes to secure visas to leave the US and return to the US. We are also looking at that, especially for those who were born there and are presently in Nigeria or those who have American passports. Let us see what is going to happen in Ghana,” Okowa said.
The AFN president had also confirmed that the federation was hoping to parade newly switched athletes, including Schlueter and Oji, at the championships after efforts led by coach Gabriel Opuana.
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