From Inside the Games
Nigeria’s Sports Minister Solomon Dalung has supposedly pledged to immediately sign-off the repayment of half of the missing $150,000 (£106,000/€121,000) mistakenly sent to the country last year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
This was confirmed by the world governing body to insidethegames, who said that they had yet to actually receive this money and are continuing attempts to recover the remaining debt.
This sum was sent to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) last year instead of the scheduled payment of $15,000 (£10,500/€12,000) due to be awarded to National Federations.
The mistake initially went unnoticed before an IAAF accountant realised and contacted the Nigerian body for a refund.
By this point, though, the money appeared to have disappeared.
Dalung eventually set up a committee to look into where the money had gone.
An IAAF spokesperson said that an unspecified “small” amount had already been paid back.
A pledge to return the $75,000 (£53,000/€60,000) was supposedly given by Dalung during a meeting at the African Athletics Championships in Asaba.
It is not clear why they cannot pay the full amount at this stage.
