Sports Minister Sets August For National Stadium Reopening
The Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, said the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State, will be ready for use in August after 19 years of abandonment.
The minister said this during a courtesy call on the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, in Abeokuta. Dare said the stadium was rehabilitated through the adopt-a-stadium initiative by his ministry.
He explained that the National Stadium in Lagos, which was built in 1973, fell into a state of disrepair almost 20 years ago due to neglect and total abandonment by successive administrations in the country.
The minister, however, said his ministry’s initiative of partnering private individuals in the country to adopt a stadium for rehabilitation, had helped in rebuilding the Moshood Abiola International Stadium, Abuja and the National Stadium, Lagos.
Dare said that the Abuja Stadium had been fitted with a new football pitch, world class tracks and latest version of scoreboards.
On the National Stadium, Lagos, Dare disclosed that a business mogul, Kessington Adebutu adopted it, noting rehabilitation work at the stadium had reached 75 per cent.
Responding, Governor Abiodun who said youths empowerment and job creation was one of the five cardinal pillars of his administration, disclosed that the ICT TechHub was deliberately conceptualised to convert youths of the state from “Yahoo-Yahoo” to more profitable ICT ventures.
Chidi Nwoke/Leadership.
