The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has said Ogun State won the bid to host the next edition of the Sports festival because of the comprehensive document the state presented.
It will be recalled that the choice of Ogun State as the host of the next National Sports Festival was announced on the final day of the 2022 edition which Delta State hosted and won recently in Asaba.
In an interview with newsmen in Delta state, the minister disclosed that Ogun state topped other states that competed, owing to the state’s bid which he described as being comprehensive.
“We found that Ogun state is one of the states that submitted a comprehensive bid. There is a standard operating procedure, the states are called to bid.
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“We visited the state to verify what they have in place. They crossed the bar because in two years there is a limit to what you can put. So, they have the basic infrastructure and that is why Ogun state was picked as the winner,” he said.
Also, a former commissioner of sports, Ogun state, Hon. Bukola Olapade who was in office when the state hosted in 2003, said the ministry inspected the state’s facilities twice before giving the approval to host in 2024.
He disclosed that Nilayo Sports Management Limited, NSML helped the state secure the bid, adding that the state government would create an enabling environment for private sector to key into in order to host a robust sports festival.