Dilapidated National Stadium: FG should provide more funds for rehabilitation –Adamu By; Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Kaduna.

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Dilapidated National Stadium: FG should provide more funds for rehabilitation –Adamu
By; Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Kaduna.
The dilapidated structures at the National Stadium, Lagos and others across the country can only be adequately rehabilitated, when the federal government provides enough funds for their maintenance.
Former Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Amos Adamu stated this while speaking at the 2015 Kaduna Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Seminar with the theme; Grassroots Sports as a basis for sports development, held on Wednesday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
According to him, mere lip-service without the financial backing cannot turn around the horrible condition of the National Stadium in Lagos.
“The dilapidated structures of the National Stadium, Lagos is as a result of lack of adequate budgeting for its maintenance. When it was completed, Julius Berger was being paid N1.5billion Naira annually for its maintenance but after the government took over from them, they were providing a paltry N200million Naira, which is grossly inadequate.
“If you give us even half of the amount given to them, the stadium would be in perfect shape and yet you hear people saying that the Oyinbos maintain things better,” he emphasized.
He explained that when he was the DG, all the stadia in the country which increased in number under him, were adequately maintained and managed, wondering why the success was  not consolidated on by his predecessors.
Commenting on the need to develop sports at the grassroots, he said that for that dream to be successful and yield fruits, facilities have to be provided right from the secondary schools, through the universities.
“In this country, no secondary school has tartan tracks, or even tracks. Go to America and see how their schools have such facilities. Even in our universities they don’t have tartan tracks,” he lamented.
He was however, optimistic that if Nigeria gets it right at the grassroots, the impact it would have on the international scene would be 500 per cent better.

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