Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has described facilities and infrastructure as critical and key components of variables that drive both elite performance and grassroots development.
The minister stated this during the inspection tour of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. Accompanied by top officials of the ministry including the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Ismail Abubakar, Senate Enoh said the tour was necessary to have first-hand information based on reports and briefings he had got from various departments of the ministry.
“We embarked on this tour because whatever one wants to do, we have to do it from a standpoint of knowledge, and that is what I am doing. Yesterday (Tuesday) was my first day at work and I had the opportunity to take reports and briefings from all the departments, after which I left the office at about 10 p.m. We are trying to be as systematic as we can, with the process.
“Facilities and infrastructures are a key component of sports, as they are variables that drive both elite performance and grassroots development. It is therefore very important that we get it right. We must maintain the current infrastructure that we have, and look towards making them better, to match what we have across the world.”
While adding that the Stadium has the capacity to become one of the best multi-purpose stadium complexes in Africa, the minister promised to give the required attention to infrastructural development. He however promised to visit other facilities across the country to assess their state and take definitive actions on their development.
“Amidst the so much that I have seen here, the positives and the negatives, this stadium is a very definitive national monument. There is about nothing that you will find elsewhere, that you cannot find here. However, from 2003 till date, the facility has gone through a lot. The ministry under my leadership will do all that it can, to get every part of the stadium functional, including the athletes’ hostel, because athletes must have the best, to be the best.”
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