Lagos – The Nigeria Olympian Association (NOA) has appealed to the Federal Government to provide financial assistance to athletes preparing for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The President of the association, Henry Amike, made the appeal in an interview in Lagos on Wednesday.

Amike, a former quarter-miler, said the athletes and coaches were training hard to do well at the Olympics.

“The government should just support them, because there are some necessities that the athletes need now and those things cost money.

“Most of these athletes use their personal money to do all these things.

“And they are representing a country at the Olympic Games; this should not be so.

“No country does that in the world, except Nigeria.

“I think the government should do something quickly; the Olympic Games are just around the corner.

“Training is going on very well; the coaches are doing very well; athletes are doing very well.

“But I just think that the government should come to their rescue.

“Let me be sincere with you, the athletes are preparing, all over the world they are competing and they are doing very well.

“Athletes just came back from the West Africa Championships and they won virtually all the gold medals there, and as I’m talking to you now, the Nigerian team are in South Africa.

“The Africa Athletics Championship is coming up, starting from tomorrow and I believe that they are going to do well there.’’

The 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil is scheduled to begin from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21.