Fears that the state-of-the-art facilities being put in place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin for the 20th National Sports Festival, tagged Edo 2020, may not be properly maintained has been allayed by the state government.
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Phillip Shaibu on Tuesday in Benin said the government would send a bill on Asset Management Agency to the state’s House of Assembly to ensure that the maintenance of the facilities was guaranteed. Speaking shortly after conducting journalists round the facilities, Shaibu said the law on their maintenance was necessary to ensure that any successive government not interested in sports would not allow the facilities to deteriorate.
The deputy governor, who is also the Chairman of the Edo 2020 Local Organizing Committee, said the government would also seek private sector partnerships in the maintenance of the facilities, just as he assured Nigerians that the contractors would deliver the remaining facilities before the opening ceremony on March 22.
“When the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, visited last week, some of the facilities had not reached the stage they are in now. The workers are on an eight-hour shift and work 24 hours daily. We are sure they will meet the deadline we gave them,” he added.