Following the uproar over the alleged N21 billion request for the renovation of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development has come out to say it neither requested nor received approval for such expenditure.
It will be recalled that through the adopt-a-facility initiative of the Ministry, the once abandoned national edifice is undergoing renovation courtesy of businessman Kessington Adebutu’s sponsorship.
In a press statement yesterday, the Ministry said reports making the rounds in the media that the Minister had requested for N21 billion for renovation of the stadium were completely misleading.
“The attention of the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development has been drawn to a report in some sections of the media that it requested for the sum of N21 billion to rehabilitate the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
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“Contrary to this report, it has become important to state clearly that the Ministry has not requested or received any such amount from government or individual.
“The Sports and Youth Minister, Mr. Sunday Dare, in an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos last week only mentioned the figure as one of the estimated amounts from the proposals received which indicates that about that sum would be needed for the complete rehabilitation and upgrade of the national edifice based on submissions made by different companies and contractors.”
The Ministry, therefore, reiterated that no such request or approvals have been made as it is all still at the process of review of proposals.
