There is now a departure from the previous neglect and lack of political will to fix the abandoned National Stadium all over the country, the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare, said on Saturday, noting that the facilities would now enjoy political will.
The minister disclosed this during a one-day work visit to the National Stadium in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister in the company of the Chairman, Nigeria Women League, Aisha Falode and other directors in the ministry of sports visited the stadium that has suffered neglect for many years.
Dare said that the Ministry of Sports Development program in Nigeria would focus on three key areas, namely maintenance, modernization, and facilities management.
“I am on a working visit to the National Stadium, Lagos today, but I have visited MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna and Daura Township Stadium.
“I visited Daura Township Stadium because there is also a plan for grassroots development of sports in our agenda. “For us in the Youth Ministry, we will focus, on three major things which include, facility maintenance, upgrade and management.
“What I have seen here is because we have not done 100 per cent management and upgrade of the stadium over the years,” he said.
Dare said his visit to the stadium was not a ritual act, but a general evaluation of the stadium with a strong political will to fix it.
“Let me tell you that my coming here is not for a ritual; I came with renewed instruction from President Muhammadu Buhari, who entrusted the task.
“The president has the political will to guarantee this time that national monuments like this are not neglected. For that, we will find an option to restore the glory of Nigeria as a football nation. We should have up to 10 or 12 international stadiums and raise the highest level of FIFA. Therefore, there is a renewed political will to restore the stadium,
“he said in the presence of sports fans Dare revealed that a public-private partnership (P3) would not be eliminated to recover the stadium, adding that a general evaluation of the facilities would be carried out. “There was a process before my arrival as a minister and I cannot truncate it.
“My job is to inspect and provide the right advice from a professional point of view. I will work with experts from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Ministry of Youth. I hope that the agreement with the federal and Lagos state will be concluded and that we are also looking for public-private partnership (PPP) for a model that evolves and replaces the facility.
“As I have said before I will not be only the Minister of Football, but sports. Nigeria has excelled in many sports; we have about 12 sports which we have a competitive edge,” he said.
“Next week I will be in Lagos to see the governor and we will take a tour to inspect the facilities and see what can be done.” Dare said the proposed nomination to host the U-20 Women’s World Cup would be given priority by the administration.
“Last week, I was in Kaduna to see the Ahmadu Bello stadium. The FIFA inspection team was here about two weeks ago. We know that in September in Zurich, FIFA will try to make the final decision to choose the host of the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“I hope to be in Zurich to see the FIFA President as part of our diplomacy. In the end, Nigeria will host the tournament because we have the facilities and we upgrade them, “he said.
Dare promised that the Ministry of Sport would make the well-being of athletes a top priority to encourage them. “We have the staff to develop men’s and women’s football in Nigeria; We will provide the best facilities.
We will also analyze their well-being to show that they are well paid.
We will work with the federations to ensure that they have the necessary training facilities. We will keep our athletes together as a team”
