Abiodun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that with such education, the athletes would become aware of the dangers of meddling with performance-enhancing drugs.

He noted that the inconsistent performance of some athletes in competitions, in recent times, could be blamed on their use of inappropriate substances.

"Some of our athletes in Nigeria these days have a way of reigning for a certain moment; they can reign for just a year and after that year you will see there is a kind of setback (low performance).

"And it is as a result of drug they are taking. I want to believe that the first thing that we need to address is to make sure that we educate all these athletes.

"We should give them orientation that drug is something that is giving negative effect to their performance. Let all the athletes stay out of drugs," he said.

The coach appealed to athletes to abstain from the use of banned substances that could tarnish their reputation, and rely on their natural talents through regular training. (NAN)