Reps want National Stadium, Lagos renovated

The House of Representatives on Wednesday said it would ensure that the dilapidated National Stadium in Lagos was rehabilitated.
Consequently, it said that as soon as committees were constituted, Committee on Sports would be mandated to liaise with the National Sports Commission to push for renovation of the stadium to commence.
The decision was sequel to a motion by Rep. Oghene Egoh (Lagos-PDP), calling for urgent action to be taken to rehabilitate the stadium.
Egoh expressed concern that the abandonment of the stadium had led to the collapse of structures, decay of facilities and consequent take-over of the complex by undesirable characters.
According to him, the undesirable characters have also turned the stadium into a cesspit and venue for criminal activities.
He said that the 60,000 capacity stadium built in 1973 at an enormous cost, had hosted major sporting competitions for Nigeria and Africa.
Egoh recalled that the last major competition held at the stadium was Africa Cup of Nations co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana in 2000.
Adopting the motion, the house urged the Federal Government and sports commission to ensure that funds for the renovation of the stadium was provided in the 2016 budget proposal.