The Minister for Youth Development and Sport, Mr. Sunday Dare, assured that the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, will soon be completed to host sporting activities.
In his speech yesterday during his visit to the Sports City, the minister was excited by the operation of the scoreboard and the change of pitch, and added that other facilities will soon be completed, such as tartan courts, VIP room and spectator stands, among others.
He said: “This facility was abandoned for many years. The stadium, unlike the Abuja stadium, had no maintenance funds for almost 17 years, but we managed to get boss Adebutu Kesington (Baba Ijebu) to bring it back to life. The time required for him to come back to life is much longer than the eyes can see.
“We had to dig out the bottom of the field and install new sprinklers because the old ones were stolen or rotten. The 10 lane tartan tracks are starting from scratch because we listened to expert advice, the scoreboard took longer to take down because it had become obsolete and had to be replaced with a new one.
“The decay in the complex takes too long. The person who financed the work insisted on proper quality and international standard before the work.
started.
“It took me a while to come here, but my coming is validation of the fact that I am impressed with the level of work that has been done. I hope that very soon we will be able to organize events here once the place is up and running.
“We are going to clean up the debris, the grass is properly maintained and the tracks will be laid soon. We are ready to go.”
The minister revealed that he created a task force to restore the stadium master plan and expel squatters, as well as remove illegal structures from the facility, adding: “When we demolished more than 100 illegal shops, we received criticism from the press. . and some people who lost their source of livelihood.
“This is a sports facility and not a market, which holds many good memories. We have identified a parcel of land where we can build around 150 closed premises, a bank and a fire station to accommodate those who were evicted.
“We are waiting for the advance approval of the president… we are working with the Ministry of Public Works, BPE and other government agencies. Once approval is given, work will begin in earnest.”
He explained that the control room would soon come into operation to allow the activation of the water sprinkler, the scoreboard and the lighting systems.
“By April, we hope that the facility will be able to host a football game, a track meet that will bring fans back to the stands.
“With COVID restrictions on the number of fans at sporting events, we can get them back in few numbers,” he enthused.