Give National Stadium to Lagos, stakeholders urge FG




Some stakeholders in sports in Lagos State have called on the Federal Government to allow the Lagos State Government take charge of the National Stadium in the state instead of conceding it to private organisations.

The stakeholders, which included coaches and former athletes, argued that the proposed concession of the Federal Government-owned stadia in Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu and Bauchi to the host states should also affect Lagos State.

They pointed out that the rehabilitation done by the Lagos State Government at the stadium before and during the last National Sports Festival in 2012 should put the state in position for the concession.

"It is justified if the Federal Government can hand over the National Stadium to Lagos State because the state has done a lot to ensure that the edifice did not rot away. During the tenure of the former Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Ademola Adeniji-Adele, he made a request to the Federal Government to allow the state take over the stadium," one of the coaches, who pleaded anonymity, said.

"Even the state government also did a lot to rehabilitate some part of the stadium during the Eko 2012 and this alone showed the interest of Lagos at ensuring that the sports city is in top shape."

They also urged the government to unveil the companies that will take over the stadiums in order to ascertain their ability to manage the structures.

Punch