The 2024 National Sports Festival meant to be held last year in Abeokuta was postponed to January 2025. HAKEEM ADEGBENRO reports on the level of preparedness with less than three weeks to the date.
When Ogun State won the bid to host the 2024 National Sports Festival, the glimpse and glamour that preceded the state hosting of same event on 2006 came back, but the joy associated with the hosting rights faded as the state wasn’t prepared in 2024.
Ogun has been known for many firsts on several fronts; not only in sports; therefore, many stakeholders are presently looking forward to another spectacle of not only hosting, but winning.
The hitherto enthusiasm of being a good host however dwindled as the state failed to host the event in its original date; thereby calling for a reschedule of hosting a 2024 event in 2025. This is largely due to late and poor upgrade of facilities and other factors.
Mounting concerns
Today, with less than one month to the January 12, 2025 re-scheduled date, people are wondering if the state is ready to host the 2024 National Sports Festival in 2025.
It was on this basis that this Blueprint reporter paid a visit to the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, (the facility to host the opening ceremony) on Friday December 6, 2024 to assess the readiness of the state to host the event or not.
Investigation therefore revealed that while the main pitch is still undergoing concrete flooring (as seen in the picture attached) on one side of the pitch, the other side is still begging for attention.
The pitch which would still undergo some sort of priming to ascertain it’s level-ness before it receives its synthetic grass laying, may not be ready for January 12 going by the slow pace of work during this reporter’s visit.
The tartan track was also still been asphalted as at the time of filing this report. The track which is also supposed to be measured into its eight lane tracks is a cause for worry for any meaningful sporting stakeholder as no meaningful seems to be going on as at December 6.
The stage box, which was meant to be expanded, was still waiting the expansion specialists before it would receive rewiring to accomodate more furnitures and esthetics.
Also, the swimming pool is another project which its location has generated many reactions from stakeholders. While many believe in the National Festival, the location of the swimming pool will render its further usage difficult as it is way off the main MKO stadium facility; therefore its readiness for the main reason it was been constructed is another worry for stakeholders who feared for a repeat of the collapsed swimming pool at the last NSF owing to rushed job.
Allaying the fears
When contacted however, the commissioner for sports, Hon Wasiu Isiaka insisted the state would be ready to host the rest of the country by January 12, 2025.
He added that works on the facilities are going on according to the timeline from contractors, saying that he doesn’t envisage any fear of postponement.
“When people are asking whether we will be ready or not, the festival is not all about the facilities you are seeing. There are so many things that go with the festival. We are talking about 32 sports. The only area we may be having issues or doubt is probably the swimming pool and the track. But when you get to that place now, you will be convinced that we would be ready.
“So as far as we are concerned in terms of the welfare of the athletes, the logistics, transportation system, security, in all aspect, we are ready.
“There is no slow pace of work at the MKO Abiola stadium. We go there from time to time and I can tell you that the job is going according to the timeline they gave us. I was there yesterday around 7am and when I went back there around 4pm, I was amazed by what I saw. It means that these people seem to be working round the clock.
“We have four numbers of lawn tennis courts and it is seventy five percent completed. All they are waiting for is the solidifying of the concrete so that they can start marking it.
“The swimming pool is receiving accelerated works, the main bowl score board is already there, the old flood lights has been removed to be replaced by another ones currently being expected in the country.
“The foreign partners are working on the track and within one week according the contractor, they should be through. The main pitch is also receiving speedy intervention to meet up with deadline.
“So, there is nothing like slow pace of work there. I doubt if there would be any shift of date for the festival. As far as we are concerned in Ogun state, we are ready for the festival,” he said.
