Barely forty eight hours to the official commencement of the 19th National sports Festival Abuja 2018, former sports Minister Engr Bala Kaoje has expressed surprised that no state Governor or government showed interest in hosting the event that is very important to national unity.
The event was scheduled to hold in 2014 in Cross River’s capital of Calabar to mark Nigeria’s centenary celebration but the state’s facilities has been unready to host the event since it was awarded the hosting rights in 2012.
The National Sports festival which is always an avenue for Nigeria to develop and discover new sporting talents have not been staged in six years since Lagos last hosted the games in 2012 and Kaoje believes that it is shameful that no state government in those years thought of bailing out Cross River to host a sporting convention as important as the NSF.
Kaoje stated that as far as he is concerned hosting the NSF does not cost much other than providing facilities and minor logistics because all athletes and officials come in the banner of their respective states responsibility.
Since resuming office, the honorable minister of sports Barr. Solomon Dalung had insisted that the Sport festival will take place even if Cross River was not ready to host.
