Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, hosted world, Commonwealth and African Games 100 metres hurdles champion, Oluwatobi Amusan, and named her as Ogun State Sport Ambassador.
A statement in Abeokuta by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, said Abiodun also announced a cash reward of N5 million and gave the queen of the tracks a house in Ijebu-Ode.
The governor had on April 26, 2021 adopted the star athlete, whose exploits were made known to him by Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.
Speaking at the event held at his Oke Mosan Office, Abiodun described Amusan as a role model to the girl/child and a practical example of a truism that what a man can do, a woman can even do better.
“So, you will be our sports ambassador; I am happy that you said you are not from any other state. You are from Ogun and not from Lagos and you want to come back home. We also want to ensure that you come back home.
“We want to assure you that as you come back home, you have a home here in the state. So, in view of that, we are also going to be presenting to you a home in Ijebu-Ode.
“On top of that, we will be giving you a small token, we will be donating to you a sum of N5 million,” he said. Abiodun, who noted that his administration is on course to give the Ijebu-Ode Stadium a facelift, said that the call by the athlete to use the arena to train whenever she is in the country would further prompt his administration to fast track the rehabilitation of the place.
“We are in the process of rehabilitating a few of our sport facilities. I have spoken to the Minister of Sports and a few other people, but now that we have one of our own, who is saying that I want to train in that stadium, that puts us under a lot of pressure to ensure we prioritise Ijebu-Ode Stadium, because we want you to come and be training there,” the governor added.
In her remarks, Amusan, while acknowledging Governor Abiodun’s support towards her success, called on the Federal Government to do more for athletes.
“All thanks to my governor for supporting me and I feel like the Federal Government can do the same when it comes to supporting athletes financially,” she said.
Her coach, Abiola Onakoya also noted that the world champion is already giving back to the society through an athletics development programme named Tobi Amusan Athletics Development Programme in Ogun State.
