Lagos To Take Over National Stadium Surulere

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Wednesday said that the Lagos State Government would ensure that the dilapidated National Stadium would be turned into an enduring world class facility instead of being a waste.

Ambode made the assertion when he spoke with newsmen after a joint inspection tour of the National Stadium with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung.

Dalung had earlier described the dilapidation of the National Stadium as a national disaster which called for serious and comprehensive action to reposition the edifice and return it to its pride of place.

Speaking after embarking on an extensive inspection tour of the facilities in the Stadium with Ambode, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, Dalung expressed confidence in the ability of the Lagos State Government to transform the dilapidated edifice.

Ambode told the minister that Lagos was ready to take over the stadium immediately the federal government gave the state the nod.

Dalung thanked Ambode for his interest and commitment to the success of the move to reposition the Stadium.

“We have gone round and we have seen the edifice in a sorry state. Whatever we can do to arrest the situation, we must do it. In my village, there is an adage, which says once there is fire disaster, there is no choice of liquid and any liquid that can contribute to extinguish the fire, must be mobilized including liquor. But today, we have a disaster and we must do everything possible to extinguish it.

“I want to thank the Governor for finding time to come. I have received what I can call football gossip from football federation that if the Surulere Stadium is handed over to Lagos and renovated in six months, the next match of Nigeria against Zambia would be played here,” the Minister said.

He also appealed to Ambode to revamp the Stationery Football Club of Lagos.

Speaking, Ambode on Wednesday declared the readiness of the State Government to take over the Surulere National Stadium from the Federal Government and transform it from its present deplorable condition to a world class sporting centre.

The governor said it was unfortunate how things had degenerated, but expressed preparedness to hit the ground running towards restoring the old glory of the Stadium once officially handed over to the State.

Ambode, who recalled how enthusiastic and interesting it was for people in the past to visit the Surulere Stadium even with their families to watch matches and catch fun among others, said repositioning the Stadium would not only help to bring about layers of employment but that it would also facilitate family bonding.

He said: “This visit is very historic. I recall that during our campaign, we promised that we are going to use tourism, entertainment and arts and sports to drive youth employment as well as drive excellence. So, this is just one chapter in that roadmap to growing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lagos.

“With the state of affairs here, we cannot fold our arms and just leave this monument to just waste away. The last match that was played here was played about fifteen years ago but the truth is this, the inner key to youth empowerment and youth employment is actually in re-establishing this edifice to its real world class standard.”

The governor thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for graciously approving that the Ahmadu Bello Stadium be given to Kaduna State as well as Enugu Stadium and Calabar Stadium be given to Enugu and Akwa Ibom State Governments respectively.

“What we ask for in Lagos is not as if we are being aggressive, we just think that we need to stand up for leadership here and take over the National Stadium,” the governor said.

The governor also commended the Sports Minister for spearheading the move to handover the Stadium to Lagos State and expressed optimism that the journey which had started would eventually lead to a formal pronouncement.

He said aside the fact that the state government was already planning to construct five stadia in the five administrative divisions of the State to grow sports, the government also had a functional agency in charge of facility management, assuring that the Surulere Stadium would be properly and efficiently managed once handed over to the State.

Some of the facilities inspected at the Stadium include the Molade Okoya Tennis Hall, 3000 Capacity Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall, Beach Soccer Pitch, Synthetic Football Pitch and the 38,000 Capacity Main Bowl Football Field.