The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, gifted an apartment and a sum of N5 million to Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in women’s 100m hurdles.
He said also named Amusan an Ogun State Sports Ambassador.
Abiodun in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, said, “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 sports 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 prioritize 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 for 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 society through an athletics development program named Tobi Amusan Athletics Development Programme in Ogun State.
Governor Abiodun also announced the rewards on his Twitter handle following the visitation of the athlete to his Oke-Mosan office in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Tuesday.
“My adopted daughter and world-record-holding athlete, Tobi Amusan, paid me a courtesy visit in Oke-Mosan this morning,” the tweet reads.
“I announced her appointment as Youth Ambassador in Ogun State and a donation of a house, as well as five million Naira in recognition of her world records and other stellar achievements.
“We had adopted the Ogun State daughter for career support earlier this year, as Ms. Amusan displayed the result-driven spirit of resilience, hard work, and determination that the State is known for.”
See the tweet below:
My adopted daughter and world-record holding athlete, @Evaglobal01 paid me a courtesy visit in Oke-Mosan this morning. pic.twitter.com/QLFoDExerz
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun – MFR, CON (@dabiodunMFR) October 4, 2022
I announced her appointment as Youth Ambassador in Ogun State and a donation of a house, as well as five million Naira in recognition of her world records and other stellar achievements. pic.twitter.com/qCfQRmqYUk
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun – MFR, CON (@dabiodunMFR) October 4, 2022
We had adopted the Ogun State daughter for career support earlier this year, as Ms Amusan displayed the result-driven spirit of resilience, hardwork and determination that the State is known for. #BuildingOurFutureTogether #ISEYA #OgunState #DapoAbiodun pic.twitter.com/quRswy8F2R
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun – MFR, CON (@dabiodunMFR) October 4, 2022
The reward is coming a few weeks after she was conferred with the Order of the Niger (OON) honor by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amusan had an illustrious 2022 season where she became the first Nigerian to become a world champion in athletics and stormed to a world record en route.
The 25-year-old then went on to claim the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, setting another record.
The Nigerian’s season wrapped up with the retention of her DL crown in Zurich last month.
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