Sports minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung has raised fresh alarm over upkeep of Abuja National Stadium in the coming year, as he says the edifice is too expensive to maintain.
In what could be a return to the derelict and unkempt state of the arena before the recent 19th National Sports Festival, Dalung confessed in an interview with sports247.ng that the sports ministry cannot maintain it.
Dalung revealed that the cost of maintaining the stadium is so heavy that the federal government can no longer foot the bills, but stopped short of mentioning alternatives to the plight.
The minister, however, noted that FCT arena’s architectural design and intricate construction is so systematic that makes it difficult to maintain.
He pointed out that there is no provision for a running tap into the pitch and tracks, hence the inability of groundsmen getting easy assess to water for wetting the grass.
Subsequently, Dalung advised: “In future, projects such as the National Stadium in Abuja should be built with our local contents.
“We should rely on what we have to do what we want, so it can be done in our own national specifications and so it can be easily maintained.”
