Thirteen years after Nigeria's 4x400m men relay team won silver that eventually got upgraded to gold following the disqualification of Team USA for dope infractions at the Sydney Olympic Games, President Goodluck Jonathan, Wednesday rewarded the six quarter milers and their two handlers for the feat.

Each of the six athletes, namely, Enefiok Udo-Obong, Jude Monye, Clement Chukwu, Nduka Awazie, Fidelis Gadzama and the late Sunday Bada got rewarded with N5million respectively while their coaches, Innocent Egbunike and Solomon Abari were N7m richer.

Bada, who died on December 12, 2011, was represented by his wife, Adesumbo, at the event which held at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

In addition to the cash, all of them will in due course be awarded national honours for winning the Sydney Olympic gold medal for Nigeria. President Jonathan, gave the cash rewards prior to the weekly FEC meeting.

While congratulating the team for the feat, the president recalled that as the deputy governor of Bayelsa State then, he was part of the entourage that was at the Sydney Games.

"What I missed in 2000, I am getting it (the gold medal) today," stressed the president with joy.

He noted that the honour for the athletes and their officials was coming belatedly.

"It certainly was at no fault of your own. It is, as the saying goes, better late than never. Your accomplishment at the highest level where the competition is very keen speaks volumes of your tenacity, hard work and indomitable will to succeed. What has been proven by the gold medal that you have just received is that if we do things the right and honest way, truth will always prevail, no matter how long it takes," he added.

President Jonathan explained that the incumbent administration has been working hard to instil the value of truth in Nigerians as part of the transformation, pointing out that: "what your experience has shown is that our sports men and women must endeavour to operate and compete within the rules of the game. They must resist any temptation to take a short cut to fame, adulation and wealth."

He condemned any form of cheating in all areas of human endeavours, saying: "be informed that malpractice in any form is evil to society. We must build a society that puts premium on integrity and transparency and hard-work.

He gave kudos to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and former Minister of Sport, Mr Damishi Sango "for holding the tenets of a drug-free sports and it's continuous efforts to provide a level playing field for all competitors. We all know that without their persistence and insistence on a drug-free regime for sports competition, this celebration we are witnessing today wouldn't have been possible."

"Once again, I congratulate our victorious 4x400m men team at the Sydney Olympics Games. You have done yourself and your country proud. The nation is equally appreciative of your sterling achievements," the president noted.

Presenting the team, the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, informed the president that the silver medal won by the team was recently upgraded to gold medal by the International Olympics Committee, "due to the disqualification of the United States of America's male relay team which initially came first at the event as a result of doping infraction."

He said "this victory is coming thirteen years after the games" as Nigeria was "unethically defeated during the games."

Nigeria, with this development, has now moved up from position 55 to 41 on the medal table of the Sydney Olympic Games with one gold and two silver medals.

Nigeria's overall performance since debuting at the 1952 Games amounts to three gold, eight silver and twelve bronze medals to place 68 on the overall medal standing.

The other two gold medals were won by Chioma Ajunwan in the long jump and the Dream Team led by Nwankwo Kanu at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The minister said: "even though this is not a true reflection of Nigeria's huge potentials in sport, we are optimistic that with the unprecedented commitment that your Excellency has demonstrated and the various initiatives that we are currently undertaking with Mr. President's guidance, Nigeria will soon be ranked amongst the very best in the world."