2023 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon holds Feb. 4, not Feb.12, says Yusuf Ali

The Technical Director of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Mr. Yusuf Ali, has dispelled the wrongful date for the 2023 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, which was erroneously published by one Nigerian online newspaper, 'The Niche', in their October 23, 2022 edition.

The online newspaper wrongly quoted that, the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon 2023 edition will hold on February 12. 

The newspaper reported that: " The seventh edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will hold on Sunday, February 12, 2023.The new date was confirmed by World Athletics, the world governing body for athletics on it's official website." The newspaper was quoted.

Yusuf Ali, the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Technical Director, said the February 12, 2023 date reported by the Niche newspaper is false, misleading, embarrassing and incorrect. There is no truth about such report.  Especially when the reporter didn't confirm the report from the management of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, the owners of the race.

Yusuf, a former African record holder in Long Jump for upwards of 27 years before it was broken, noted that, the correct date for the 2023 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, is Saturday, February 4.

He stressed that, unknowingly to the online newspaper, the special features that may possibly come with the February 4, 2023 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, is the upliftment to the Gold Label status from the Silver Label status, which the management had applied for and it's already receiving positive responses and just waiting for the World Athletics confirmation before the February 4, 2023 race date for the new status, the highest by an African country's marathon races.

"We won't condone such carelessness from any news media organisation again if such embarrassment is repeated. Especially from those who preferred not to confirm such sensitive reports before publishing to the public on matters relating to the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, a world class event, with Silver Label status, one of the very few marathon races in the African continent waiting to become a Gold Label marathon Race."

He added that: "A quality online newspaper like 'The Niche' should make sure all their reports on Access Bank Lagos City Marathon are verified and confirmed from the management of Nilayo Sports Management Limited before such are published."