The Anambra State Chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has expressed shock and worry over the deplorable state of the only state-owned swimming pool which has been inhabited by dangerous reptiles and weeds.
The swimming pool said to have cost the state government a whopping N100m was built for the 2020 police games hosted by Anambra State and since then it has not been put to use again.
Speaking on the condition of the sporting facility, the Chairman of SWAN in the state, Comrade Anthony Orji, said the swimming pool was built against the advice of the association.
He said the site of the swimming pool is prone to erosion but the then state government did not listen to wise advice by the sports writers against locating the edifice at the place.
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Orji also lamented that after the facility was built, the government did not make any provision for its maintenance leading to what he said is now an eyesore.
Also speaking, a sport analyst and veteran broadcaster, Mr Asika Ikemefula, said the swimming pool was built on faulty foundation and it was not expected to stand.
According to him, the money used for the construction was just wasted as nothing can be achieved with swimming pool again.
“Even at the just concluded Anambra State Sports Festival, they used private facilities for swimming. In fact the swimming pool was a complete waste of resource,” he said.
When contacted, the Chairman Anambra State Sports Development Commission, Dr. Patrick Ekeji, said that the government was no longer interested in the swimming pool.
According to him when he visited the facility, he discovered that erosion had swept away what was left of the swimming pool.
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