The Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja has the capacity to become the best stadium in the whole of Africa, according to the new Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh.
Enoh, who is taking over from Sunday Dare as the head of sports under the new Presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said this after making a visit to the stadium on Wednesday.
Ripples Nigeria recalls that the former Minister Dare had overseen major repairs in the facility during his tenure, but his successor believes the facility is still in bad shape.
Enoh assessed the state of the multi-sports complex and thereafter decried the conditions of the facilities.
He visited the main bowl of the stadium, the velodrome, the facility building, the athletes’ hostel, the Federation and Elite Athletes Department (FEAD), the Power Technical Building, as well as other facilities in the edifice.
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“We embarked on this tour because whatever one wants to do, we have to do it from a standpoint of knowledge, and that is what I am doing. Yesterday (Tuesday) was my first day at work and I had the opportunity to take reports and briefings from all the departments, after which I left the office at about 10pm. We are trying to be as systematic as we can, with the process,” said Enoh.
“Facilities and infrastructures are a key component of sports, as they are variables that drive both elite performance and grassroots development. It is therefore very important that we get it right. We must maintain the current infrastructures that we have, and look towards making them better, to match what we have across the world.
“Moshood Abiola National Stadium has the capacity to become one of the best multi-purpose stadium complexes in Africa. I promised to give the required attention to infrastructural development to ensure that it remains the best.
“Amidst the so much that I have seen here, the positives and the negatives, this stadium is a very definitive national monument. There is about nothing that you will find elsewhere, that you cannot find here.
“However, from 2003 till date, the facility has gone through a lot and suffered decay and looks very unkempt. The ministry under my leadership will do all that it can, to get every part of the stadium functional, including the athletes’ hostel, because athletes must have the best, to be the best, ” the minister stated.
Enoh also added that he will visit other facilities across the country, to assess their state and take definitive actions on their development.
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