Nigerian sprint star Favour Ashe has broken his silence on months of speculation over his future, declaring his return to Team Nigeria ahead of the World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.
NOP NIGERIA reports that Favour Ashe, 22, travelled out of Lagos on Wednesday with Tonobok Okowa after being named in the squad by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. His inclusion ends weeks of uncertainty following reports linking him with a possible nationality switch after training with a Qatar-based South African group.
Speaking before departure from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ashe delivered a short but emphatic message. “I’m back, watch out for me in Botswana,” he said via Making of Champions.
His statement signals a renewed commitment to Nigeria and comes just days before the global relay meet begins. World Athletics had earlier confirmed that no formal nationality-change request had been submitted by Ashe or any other Nigerian athlete.
Ashe returns to the relay pool as one of the country’s fastest ever sprinters. In 2022, he clocked a wind-assisted 9.79 seconds at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, the quickest time by a Nigerian under any conditions.
He followed with a 9.96 seconds personal best at the NCAA Championships in Texas in 2023 before improving to 9.94 seconds in Lexington in 2024. The run made him the first Nigerian to break the 10-second barrier five times across three consecutive years.
He is expected to bolster Nigeria’s men’s 4x100m relay squad alongside Enoch Adegoke, James Emmanuel, Chidera Ezeakor and Tejiri Godwin.
Nigeria will also compete in the women’s and mixed relay events, with leading sprinter Blessing Ogundiran headlining the women’s 4x100m team.
