Why Nigerian cyclist ‘borrowed’ bicycle from German team at Olympics – Sports minister

Cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye

Why Nigerian cyclist ‘borrowed’ bicycle from German team at Olympics – Sports minister

Minister of Sports, John Enoh, has cleared the air on the controversy surrounding the “borrowed” bicycle used by a Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye at the Paris Olympic Games.

Ukpeseraye, the only African cyclist among 30 competitors, caused a social media frenzy after thanking the German team for lending her a bicycle due to compete because the Nigerian team did not have it.
He said in a statement, “My attention has been called to a post on social media by Ese Ukpeseraye. After reading the post and some follow-up comments, I swung into action.
“Ese’s post seems to have been grossly misunderstood, perhaps also because it didn’t seem to give proper context to the matter in perspective.”

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The minister said Team Nigeria had initially qualified for a road race in cycling and was fully prepared with the necessary equipment.
He however disclosed that two weeks ago, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) reallocated additional slots to Nigeria, including the keirin and individual sprint events, which required different equipment.
“For this track race reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used.
“It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment. To therefore get Ese to compete, the Federation through Ese’s Club in Europe and working with a German-owned Company, got a ‘Track Bike’ for our cycler Ese,” he said.