President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, says the federation will not stop Favour Ofili from changing her nationality to Turkey.
According to the Punch, Okowa admitted he was surprised by the news that the 22-year-old sprint star has applied to switch allegiance, especially so close to the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Ofili’s move was first reported by Jamaican journalist Kayon Raynor, who said the athlete had informed the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) about her frustration with the way the Nigerian athletics body had handled her career.
Although Okowa said the AFN had not received any official notification from Ofili or from World Athletics, he acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past. He revealed that Ofili had even received a training grant this year and that plans were underway to fully reintegrate her into the national team.
“If this is true, it’s sad and painful,” Okowa said. “But she’s old enough to make her own decisions. We can’t stop her. She’s still one of us — our daughter and sister.”
He added, “We apologise to Nigerians, the National Sports Commission, and athletics fans worldwide who value our sport and country. We understand this is a tough moment.”
Ofili is still officially listed as a Nigerian athlete on the World Athletics website and remains one of the country’s qualified athletes for the upcoming championships from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo.
The development comes amid growing concerns over athlete migration. Turkey has reportedly offered as much as $500,000 to foreign athletes willing to compete for the country. The country has already recruited several athletes from Jamaica this year.
Nigeria has a history of losing top talents due to poor sports administration. Notable examples include Francis Obikwelu (Portugal), Gloria Alozie (Spain), Florence Ekpo-Umoh (Germany), Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain), and Femi Ogunode (Qatar), all of whom went on to achieve international success after switching allegiance.
Ofili, who recently broke the women’s 150m world record at the Adidas Atlanta City Games, is seen as one of Nigeria’s most promising young athletes.
