Nigeria storm Ghana with 41 athletes for African Championships

Team Nigeria will depart for Ghana on Monday ahead of the 2026 African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, with a 41-athlete contingent set to represent the country at the continental event.

According to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, the delegation will travel through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos for the championships scheduled to hold from May 12 to 17.

Some foreign-based athletes have already arrived directly in Accra ahead of the competition.

Nigeria’s squad comprises 17 male and 24 female athletes who will compete across 26 track and field events.

The team will be led by AFN president Tonobok Okowa, while 10 technical officials are also expected to accompany the athletes.

The contingent includes a mix of foreign-based and home-based athletes under the supervision of AFN technical director Gabriel Okon and national head coach Solomon Aliyu.

Other coaches travelling with the team include Olu Sule, Deji Aliu, Gabriel Opuana, Kolawole Adebayo, Saheed Akinpelu, Mavuah Esabunor, Pade Lawal and Henry Okorie.

World record holder Tobi Amusan headlines Nigeria’s challenge in the women’s 100m hurdles.

Other notable athletes in the squad include Rosemary Chukwuma, Favour Ashe, Chidi Okezie, Obiageri Amaechi and Oyesade Olatoye.

The team also features several young athletes who recently represented Nigeria at the World Relays in Gaborone, including Godwin Tejiri, Miracle Ezechukwu, Rosemary Nwankwo and Toheebat Jimoh.

Nigeria will also compete in middle and long-distance events as part of efforts to strengthen those categories.

Comfort James will compete in the women’s 800m, while Aderonke Akanbi is entered for the women’s 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase events.

In the men’s events, Gang James Boyi will compete in the 1,500m and 5,000m races after dominating local 10km competitions over the past year.

However, Nigeria suffered a setback ahead of the championships after decathlon national record holder Jami Schlueter and African shot-put record holder Jessica Oji were ruled out.

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Schlueter is expected to miss the championships due to visa-related complications.

AFN president Tonobok Okowa had earlier admitted that the federation was facing challenges securing travel documents for some foreign-based athletes, especially those based in the United States.

Speaking on the situation, Okowa said the federation was working to resolve travel issues affecting athletes with American passports and others based abroad.

Okowa said: “We are looking at how soon we can get some of the foreign-based athletes to secure visas to leave the US and return to the US.

“We are also looking at that, especially for those who were born there and are presently in Nigeria or those who have American passports.

“Let us see what is going to happen in Ghana.”

The AFN president had also confirmed that the federation hoped to feature newly switched athletes, including Schlueter and Oji, at the championships following efforts led by coach Gabriel Opuana.

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