Lagos ready to take over National Stadium in Surulere ― Ambode

Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has declared the readiness of the state government to take over the National Stadium in Surulere from the Federal Government and transform the facility from its present deplorable condition to a world class sporting centre.

Governor Ambode gave the promise on Wednesday while speaking after embarking on an extensive inspection tour of the facilities in the stadium alongside the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalung; Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Mr Amaju Pinnick and other top government functionaries.

Governor Ambode lamented how thing had degenerated at the stadium, describing the situation as unfortunate, but expressed preparedness to hit the ground running towards restoring the old glory of the stadium once officially handed over to the state.

Governor 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.

“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 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,” he said.

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 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,” he said.

He 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.

The governor 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.

He assured that the National Stadium in Surulere would be properly and efficiently managed once handed over to the state.

Earlier, Dalung lamented the dilapidated condition of the stadium which he described as a national disaster, just as he called for serious and comprehensive action to reposition the facility and return it to its pride of place.

While expressing confidence in the ability of the state government to transform it, Dalung specially thanked Governor 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.

The minister also appealed to Governor Ambode to revamp the Stationary Stores Football Club of Lagos.

Some of the facilities inspected at the stadium include the Molade Okoya Tennis Hall, 3,000 Capacity Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall, Beach Soccer Pitch, Synthetic Football Pitch and the 38,000 capacity Main Bowl Football Field.