The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has announced the temporary closure of the National Stadium in Lagos.
The minister made this revelation following his assessment of the condition of the stadium, especially the damage triggered by the collapsed floodlights at the Stadium premises on Wednesday, April 19.
He also examined the level of damage caused by other facilities and the remaining three floodlights at the national stadium
Dare wrote on Twitter: “Friday at 7 AM, I inspected the floodlight mast that broke in half & collapsed from the rainstorm last Wednesday. Thank God there was no casualty. I also inspected the 3 other light masts & the effects of age & weather elements were visible.
“Clearly they are also suspect after 51 years. Based on my assessment, advice of experts, and in the interest of public safety, the ministry will announce shortly the temporary closure of the stadium and surrounding facilities for proper assessment and necessary action.
“The concession process towards fully privatizing the Surulere stadium, which began last year, will be expedited by the Federal Government through the ICRC towards a comprehensive rehabilitation and upgrade of the 51 years old edifice.
“We have decided to err on the side of caution, hence the decision to impose extensive restrictions around the stadium. We request the cooperation of anyone who this decision may inconvenience as we cannot the reality on the ground.”
The Informant247 recalls that General Yakubu Gowon built the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos in 1972.
The stadium has been treated with abandonment after it hosted a few international matches.
We need N21bn to renovate Lagos National Stadium — Sunday Dare
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has said that the government needs the sum of 21 billion naira to renovate the National Stadium, Lagos.
He made this known in a post through his Twitter handle while giving information on ongoing work on the stadium.
“The National Stadium Surulere, Lagos: Just the Facts. Not Fallacies.
”Upon assumption of office in 2019, I met the National Stadium in a completely run down state. Left to rot for almost 17 plus years. No renovations (or) upgrades. Illegal occupants had taken over. The Illegal occupants had distorted the original plan. We immediately set down to work at the ministry. First,the task force removed all illegal occupants and locked out miscreants. Next we sought funding from private partners as budget allocation was insufficient.
”Old, damaged and clogged up water drainage system gutted out and new ones installed. Second phase of the tartan tracks installed; awaiting the final phase, followed by lanes marking. One digital score board as originally fitted into stadium has been fully installed.”
The minister made public some images which revealed the current state of the sporting venue and how it looked like before now.
“This is what we met and we started work on the main bowl. Our target was to fix three of the 15 critical aspects of the Surulere stadium. The pitch, scoreboard and tartan tracks. We faced delays but we never stopped. 80 per cent of these three works have been completed.
”What is needed to fix the National Stadium Surulere after 17 plus years of neglect is in excess of 21 billion naira, about 45 million dollars, of which we have just about 500m naira from private and government funding. There is a limit to what can be fixed.”