By Nicholas Ojo
There was traffic gridlock in the Surulere area of Lagos State on Wednesday, as some physically-challenged persons who are athletes staged a protest over their exclusion from the National Sports Festival.
It was learnt that the aggrieved protesters, staged the protest to show their displeasure about the alleged removal of some sports from the forthcoming National Sports Festival.
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The protesters who gathered at the National Stadium insisted that all the physically-challenged sports exempted from the festival must be included.
One of the protesters, Joyce Otun, a para-athlete, told News Agency of Nigeria that it was necessary they staged the protest as members of her group were being marginalised due to their disabilities.
“We are protesting because they deny us our rights, the National Sports Festival must include all Para Sports and none should be denied participation.
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“Only three of our sports have been enlisted in the National Sports Festival. If they would not include all our sports they should forget about the festival this year.
“We are not ready to stop, we will continue this protest until they heed our call,” Ms Otun said.
Another protester said the disabled sports persons were being ignored, hence their grievances.
“We want the government to do the right thing. They should give us what rightfully belongs to us, that is what we are fighting for by this protest.
“If they would not grant us our request, we will be here for the next 24 hours until our sports are included in the National Sports Festival.
“We are not being treated right by the government in spite of the fact that we win majority of the medals for the country,” he said.