FCTA, Sports Ministry Partner To Rehabilitate Moshood Abiola Stadium

The FCT Administration  will partner the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to rehabilitate the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, the minister of the FCT, Muhammed Bello, has said.

Bello disclosed the plans on Thursday while hosting the minister of sports and youth development, Sunday Dare, a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Anthony Ogunleye, stated.

According to Bello, the iconic stadium was under utilised, adding that the move to rehabilitate it would optimise its potential. 
 
He said the stadium was a very important public monument in Nigeria’s capital, adding that  after the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the stadium was the, “second most iconic public edifice in Abuja, noticeable immediately upon arrival into the city.”
 
Bello noted that, “Rehabilitating the stadium is  going to be in our own joint interest, not only as an Administration but as a people … particularly now that it’s very clear that moving abroad for holidays or for short trips that was the popular pastime of many in Nigeria, is not going to be as it used to be.

 
“As a matter of fact, in the last two and half months, flights have not flown out or come into this country. So, it is now that we will start to appreciate the beauty of what we have across the country. Each time I go to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, I feel very delighted and proud that we have something like this in Nigeria”.

The minister further urged the sports ministry, “to work out a long term sustainable plan with the private sector to open up the various facilities in the stadium for public use.”

According to Bello, more attention should be paid to areas including,  “vegetation control, waste evacuation and lighting. According to him, the stadium is exceptionally beautiful when lit up at night. He said that if the rehabilitation works are done properly, the stadium can really become a city within a city and be a major tourist destination within the country.”
   Meanwhile, Dare described the Moshood Abiola Stadium as one of the, “four Federal Government stadia across the country,” adding that the sports ministry would ensure that “the iconic monument came back to life and in full functionality for the benefit of the sporting community and the entire country.”
 
“The stadium as it is, is not just for sports men and women alone. It is built in such a comprehensive way that it is a city within a city with a the 5,000 capacity parking lot, a 64,000 capacity sitting arena, 54 executive suites furnished, all locked up that can be rented and given out; about nine different football practice pitches, Olympic sized swimming pool and eight massive generators. We have a stream that runs across  it and a massive expanse of land to build a five-star hotel. We want to turn it into a piece of real estate and a sporting facility that will be the pride of this country and the pride of Africa and we think that the FCT will be a worthy partner,” Dare said.