The federal government has allocated over N12 billion this year for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the main bowl of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
This is outlined in President Bola Tinubu’s N49.7 trillion “Budget of Restoration,” which he presented to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly late last year.
As per the budget details, the defunct sports ministry, now operating as the National Sports Commission (NSC), will spend N12,772,951,242 on the stadium’s main bowl upgrade. The total budget for the NSC stands at N94,947,006,325.
This development follows earlier efforts to restore the stadium. In 2020, after years of neglect, former Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, launched the “Adopt-a-Pitch” initiative, calling on individuals and corporate organizations to help rehabilitate sporting infrastructure. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, responded by committing $1 million to restore the main bowl of the stadium.
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The renovation, executed by local contractors Aron Nigeria, included the installation of pure dynasty paspalum grass—a cutting-edge technology also used for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The upgrade featured two digital scoreboards, 24 sprinklers, nursery beds, and a two-year maintenance plan, all under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement.
However, despite the facelift, the pitch deteriorated within a year of its handover to the federal government. Its poor condition forced the Super Eagles to relocate their matches to the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, popularly known as the “Nest of Champions.”
In addition to the N12 billion earmarked for the stadium’s main bowl, the NSC has budgeted N4.5 billion for constructing a sports secretariat at the MKO Abiola Stadium, N1.2 billion for building a National Olympic Committee (NOC) headquarters in Abuja and N3.65 billion for procuring official vehicles for the commission and for utility needs of national sports federations and athletes.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with a N2.4bn budget has outlined smaller allocations, including N340 million for purchasing two buses for national football teams, N12.6 million for acquiring 10 computers and N10 million for monitoring sports-related projects just as the Nigeria Institute of Sports (NIS) budgeted N1.88bn for its programs.
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