Guardian NSC seeks govt’s approval to concession Lagos National Stadium MONDAY, 07 OCTOBER 2013 00:00 BY ENO-ABASI SUNDAY SPORT - HOME THE National Sports Commission (NSC) says it has written to seek permission from the Federal Government to concession the National Stadium, Lagos under the public private partnership, in a bid to ensure maintenance of the dilapidated iconic structure. Director of facilities at the NSC, Ibrahim Shehu, while appearing as guest on a television magazine programme was, however, silent on whether the re-grassed Abuja National Stadium would still be under the watch of the commission or would face the same fate as the Abuja stadium even as he confirmed that the sum of N96.6m was used to re-grass the facility. Shehu informed that efforts were in top gear for the National Stadium, Lagos, which was constructed to host the 1973 All-Africa Games to be concessioned in order for it to be put into good use while stemming the rot that has enveloped the multi-million naira facility. According to him: “We have written to the Federal Government asking for approval for the concessioning of the stadium. The approval, we believe would come soon and once that happens, the Lagos National Stadium would be privatised.” Shehu informed that the relevant government agencies including the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and other relevant bodies were being carried along in the process in order to ensure that best practices were adopted in the process. He also used the opportunity to speak on the controversy that has surrounded the re-grassing of the Abuja National Stadium, which was recently re-opened for use. Chairman of the House Committee on Sports, Godfrey Ali Gaiya, had maintained that the amount spent on the re-grassing of the pitch was stupendous even as he condemned the pitch alleging that it was water-logged after a brief downpour. “My God, how can you use N96 million to re-grass a pitch, and this job was tested by nature right in our presence when it drizzled for few minutes and the whole place became water-logged, we have asked them to invite the contractors to come and do a good job.” But Shehu stressed that the job done by the construction giant was world-class and FIFA-specific, noting that the commission was taking steps to ensure that the level of deterioration would never again happen.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 07:41:08 +0000