Team Nigeria cyclists and officials of FT Cycle Care, organisers of  Tour D’Afrique 2025 cycling event (Nigerian to Ghana) are  back in the country

The tour D’Afrique was part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS and also to revive the ECOWAS tour 

Chairman FT Cycle Care cycling club, Femi Thomas who doubles as the  helmsman of Ogun State Cycling Association,says the tour emphasizes the unity on the African continent, most especially in the West African Sub- region 

Thomas, a boardmember  of Cycling Federation of Nigeria and an ex- cyclist states that the Ultimate West African Cycling Adventure afforded the cyclists the opportunity to Explore vibrant cities

– Engage with local communities and cyclists

– Foster international friendships and cooperation

” The experience was awesome because each and everyone of the cyclists, when they crossed the boarder and  started seeing different things, they start to believe that there could be a better Nigeria if we’re able to do the right thing.

” They also saw the professionalism out there  which make them believe that if these people can do things in a perfect way, we too can do better. So, they were able to adapt to new sense of professionalism, new ability to explore , to diversify and also see things beyond their locality.

On the technical aspect of the tour, he noted that the team covered 220 kilometer on the first day, did 180 kilometer on the second day and 95 kilometer on the third day while on their way back, they rode 188 kilometer, did  140 kilometer on the sixth day and 135 kilometer on the final day.

” You can see that we covered a lot of distance within a short period of time  but we were able to enjoy it. There were  different terrain, different hills, different weather and environment which made us become more familiar with everything around us”, he stressed.

He appealed to companies and businesses to take advange of the enomous benefits accrued to the tour to grow their products and services along the West African route.

Logistics Manager, FT Cycle Care, Iyanoluwa Abidoye , explaines that the tour which is it’s 6th edition is organized annually to encourage cyclists to sharpen their skills in the sport and promote a healthy lifestyle

Iyanoluwa Abidoye while commending all the government agencies like Customs, Immigration and boarder patrols of the various countries they passed through for making the team have a seamless trip, announced that they’re planning a 24 hour ride which usually take place in December.

” It’s a thing of joy that we had a successful trip. Kudos must go to Immigration, ECOWAS, Customs and boarder patrols of  Nigeria and all the three countries for their understanding which made the trip hitch free 

” We at FT Cycle Care are planning to organise a 24 hour ride in December that will bring together all cyclists to create unity, love and peace and we hope to see more athletes participate in that event”, she stated.

In their separate interviews, Aniekwe Chidiebere Solomon, Bello Abidemi who made their debut in the tour and Dauda Saliu, a recreational rider all took turns to hail the tour, declaring that they enjoyed every aspect of the trip.

According to them,  though the tour  wasn’t easy but it enabled them to know more about other African countries and their culture.

They however appealed to the Nigerian Government to pay more attention to cycling because there’s a lot of benefits while urging the government to create a dedicated lane for cycling on the roads 

A total of 17 cyclists took part in the weeklong event which took them to Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.

The event terminated at the liaison office of ECOWAS in Lagos where a top official of the sub- regional body received  and presented the team with medals as an award and recognition for their achievement.

The tour du Africa saw the cyclists cover a distance of 1000 kilometers

The National Sports Commission, NSC, has described the demise of former Kano Pillars Chairman Alhaji Abba Yola as a painful loss to the Country’s Sports family.

The Kano born Sports administrator was a retired Assistant director in the Sports Ministry and also a former chief of staff to former Sports Minister Hon. Sunday Dare, amongst other high profile positions he held in the country’s Sports corridor.

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko described Alhaji Abba Yola as a personal friend whose loss is shocking and painful.  

The Chairman said “Alhaji Abba Yola is a sports administrator Per Excellence and he contributed immensely to the growth of Nigerian sports when he was at the Sports Commission, then the Ministry of Sports. 

“He will truly be missed because he was a personal friend and his vast and rich experience in the administration of Sports is well documented.We interfaced very well when he was the Chairman of Kano Pillars but we take solace in the fact that he left a very good mark in the growth of Nigerian Sports”.

“He also had a huge role to play when Nigeria qualified for the 2010 FIFA World cup in South Africa as a member of the Presidential Task Force, PTF”, he stated.

The Director General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olopade, said Alhaji Yola is one of the true brains this country has produced in Sports administration and execution over the years who came through the ranks in the Commission”.

“His invaluable contributions to Nigerian sports are some of the things that paved the way to the successes the Commission is currently recording”.

“I remember very well he was the Chief of Staff to Former Sports Minister, Sunday Dare who instituted and started the Adopt-The-Athletes initiative which has now birthed the Elite Athletes and Podium Board of the commission where our top athletes are now receiving training grants in different categories”.

“Alhaji Abba Yola will be greatly missed and our hearts are with his family and the people of Kano state for this great loss”, he concluded.

The Para-Olympics Committee of Nigeria, PCN, has ascribed the  recent success of Team Nigeria at the Para Grand Prix in Tunisia to the intentional support the National Sports Commission, NSC, is giving to the country’s Para-Sports.

These were the remarks of the PCN President, Sunday Odebode, as he revelled in the performance of the country’s Para-athletes in Tunisia, where Nigeria finished second overall out of 42 countries that featured at the competition.

” The NSC under the leadership of the Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and the Director General, Hon Bukola Olopade, has taken the support given to people living with disabilities to another level”.

” We have never had it this good in the past where the Commission is not only supporting us financially but also assisting us in every technical way to succeed both with our international competitions and domestic ones”.

” This is why to whom much is given, much is expected and the athletes did not disappoint in Tunisia and made the country proud with their performance. It will also interest us to know that because of their outing in Tunisia, Nigeria was able to secure  qualification for the World Championship in India later this year and also booked various Spots to the Commonwealth Games and the Los Angeles Olympic Games”.

Odebode also salutes the Commission for the smooth funding of its program and camping which are all geared towards podium finish in both next year’s Commonwealth Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics games.

” The Commission has also made our various programs very easy to execute because of the attention and funding we are currently getting from them.If you observe, the Para-lifters just concluded their trials.We discovered 10 new athletes there and they will now be going to Santiago, Chile for the World tournament”.

” And the Para- athletes will open their camp this month also.We also have Wheelchair basketball also preparing for the Commonwealth Games and our Para-Swimmers are also opening camp this month.All of these wouldn’t have been possible if not for the new funding approach of the NSC”.

Team Nigeria finished the championship with an impressive medal haul of 19,  out of which 10 are Gold , 6 are silver and 3 are bronze medals.