National Stadium: Cabal moves to frustrate Lagos govt’s takeover bid

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Barely few days after the Lagos State government initiated a move to take over the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, from the Sports Ministry, a powerful cabal, which seems to be benefitting from the rot of the edifice, has commenced underground work to frustrate the takeover bid.

According to a competent source close to the Lagos State government, who confided in The Point, there are some powerful individuals, who have vested interest in the business empire of the age-long arena, and they are working underground to stop the takeover bid.

The source informed The Point that the Lagos State government has not signed any Memorandum of Understanding with the Sports Ministry, adding that they just came out together to inspect the stadium last week, just to see the level of damages and what they could do to revive the dwindling fortunes and the crumbling state of the stadium.

Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and his team had taken time out to inspect the National Stadium, as promised, with the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, and his men, including the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick.

After the visit, the two parties had been deliberating on the way forward, but those who have been secretly making fortunes from the edifice, at the expense of the government, or have business empires in the stadium, have started a propaganda to frustrate the takeover bid.

“It is like some people are making money in that place. They did not want the Lagos State government to come into the stadium, because they believe it will no more be business as usual.

They know that when the new ‘landlord steps in, the old tenants will surely go’. There is fear of the unknown already for those people and they are not ready to co-operate, but they cannot stop what Lagos has started.

I think Lagos is ready to spend money to transform the stadium and make it a mega sportscity and at the same time, it may like to commercialise the facility to get back its resources.

I think it is going to be another source of revenue to the Lagos State government,” the source hinted The Point. He said Lagos has not signed any MoU, as they are still working on the probabilities and how the takeover bid would benefit both the state and the Federal governments.

The National Stadium, Lagos, a multipurpose stadium in Surulere, comprises an Olympic-size swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for basketball, volleyball, table tennis, wrestling and boxing matches.

It was used mostly for football matches until 2001, and it has hosted several international competitions, including the 1980 African Cup of Nations’ final, the 2000 African Cup of Nations’ final, and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

It also served as the main stadium for the 1973 All-Africa Games. It was closed and abandoned in 2004. President Muhammadu Buhari had approved that the Ahmadu Bello Stadium be ceded to Kaduna State, while the Enugu Stadium and Calabar Stadium be ceded to Enugu and Akwa Ibom states governments respectively.