John Mikel Obi revealed that the Nigerian government has yet to reimburse him for covering the flight expenses of the national Olympic football team in 2016.
The Super Eagles legend stated that the team was on the verge of missing their first game against Japan before his special intervention.
The former Chelsea star revealed that he consulted coach Samson Siasia before making the move to pay for the chartered flight to Brazil.
In a post on X, the AFCON winner explained that the logistics have been captured in the 2016 budget, but powerful people in government decided to divert the funds.
He emphasised that the majority of the players were playing in their first international tournament, which meant a lot to them. He said via That Peter Crouch Podcast:
"I want to talk about the corruption where a budget is signed by the Nigerian government, and somebody sits on top of that money, failing to release it for our Olympics trip.
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— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) June 18, 2025
"There was no money to pay for a flight, the players were worried... I spoke to the coach, we looked for a plane and I had to pay for it."
Mikel Obi said he still hasn't been reimbursed for flying the Nigerian football team to the Rio 2016 Olympics. pic.twitter.com/OmVAvJosHQ
"We are all sitting at the hotel, about to fly to Rio, and everyone's thinking about how we're going to get there. There was no money to pay for the flight, nothing to do, and the players were worried because this was the first time most of them were attending a major tournament.
"I thought why not, I spoke to the coach said how can you find a plane, look for a plane and I had to pay for it; I funded the flight.
"We got to the Olympics and I thought, okay now I am going to get reimbursed, but up till today, I still haven't really got my money back."
According to The Mirror, the Nigeria Football Federation claimed that the sports ministry paid the airline, but the money did not reflect in the account of the operators.
They thought I would forfeit the funds - Mikel
Two-time Premier League winner Mikel Obi explained that the authorities were expecting him to forfeit the flight ticket monies.
According to CNN, the Chelsea legend said winning a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics satisfied him.
He said: "They didn't expect that I would demand reimbursement because I am the famous Mikel Obi, he can afford it, and that's the thinking and mentality.
“When I represented my country at the Olympics in Brazil, we had to fly to Brazil, and we waited from morning till night, waiting for a plane to take us to Brazil.
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 28, 2024
“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scene of who was going to pick… pic.twitter.com/yqsBzvesLm
"I told them that yes, I've done it but it's the principle, you need to pay me back my money but they still declined and for me the joy that I take out of that is that we got there and those young players were able to get a medal; I know we finished third but it's still a massive achievement.
"For me to be able to see that for those young players going back home to their families, knowing that they got a medal from a limit was more than the money."
Before the commencement of the Rio 2016, the Nigerian government, through the former Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, said he was unaware of their training in the USA, per Daily Times.
