Former Track and field star, Hameed Adio revealed that the sex scandal in Moscow 1980 Olympics was a plot by selected athletes to unceremoniously remove Late Pa Isaac Akioye as head of the defunct National Sports Commission.
Hameed Adio was team Nigeria captain to the Moscow 1980 Olympics held in Russia.
Adio told www.aclsports.com that the story negatively affected the concentration, training and mental toughness of the team during the Olympics.
The former Vice President of Athletes Federation of Nigeria noted that the security in Moscow 80 was extra tight, so the idea of a sex scandal was absolutely far fetched.
The sports administrator said, “I appreciate your concern for our dismal performance at the Games for which adequate preparations were made but unfortunately marred by politics and the quest for power in the defunct National Sports Commission.
“This quest for power was robed in the widely reported “sex scandal in Moscow” as reported by the Punch Newspaper reporter, late Owolabi Ilori. I can authoritatively tell you that such never existed as inquiries on the same allegation (both in Moscow and back home in Nigeria where all of us as athletes testified) never confirmed the veracity of such scandal.
“It was a gang up of some of the athletes from a section of the country who were not pleased with the headship of late Pa Akioye at the National Sports Commission and wanted another principal officer from their own part of country perhaps because they formed the bulk of the team being US based, they polarised the whole the team. That negatively affected the concentration, training and mental toughness of the team because the set of athletes caused a lot of disruption in the team apparently because they wanted Pa Akioye out at all costs.
“Given America’s boycott of the Games, coupled with the sad incidents of Munich 72 Olympic hostage taking, security in Moscow 80 was extra tight; so the idea of a sex scandal was absolutely far fetched. Of course since the team did not do well at the Games, Isaac Akioye arguably one the best Sports administrators this Country has produced (for those who know him) was removed as Director of Sports”, Adio told www.aclsports.com
