Our Reporter
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, who is in Edo State ahead of the National Sports Festival (NSF) to ascertain the level of preparations for the national event, has praised the Edo State government for the turnaround in facilities within a few months, adding that they have raised the bar for hosting of sporting events in Nigeria.
The Festival will be held at various centres in Benin from March 20 to April 4.
He said this while speaking to journalists after he undertook an inspection of the hostel accommodation for athletes in Benin, the state capital.
“We started from the stadium; we looked at a section of the stadium today. We had already looked at the other parts earlier when I said it was 90% ready. When I came the last time it was just rafters for the gym, we have seen that everything is almost set, by Sunday or Monday that place will be fully ready,” the minister explained.
“We have seen the tennis court, which is the Ogbe Hard Court is also ready. We have seen the main bowl itself is ready; we will test the tracks by our athletes. It almost means that it is ready. I think we couldn’t ask for more.”
The minister allayed fears on the pandemic Coronavirus, adding organisers are working round the clock to mitigate against the spread of Covid-19.
“As we speak, I know they have received 8500 sanitizers, the total number they’re expecting is 12000 sanitizers. As we speak I know they have designated 15 entry points for screening, so if you’re coming from the North, if you’re coming from Lagos, the first point of call just like the entry points at the airport is the screening point. That screening point you also get the package of literature and sanitizers and then you get your accreditation done,” Dare added.
The minister expressed hope that the competition would throw up talents for the country for future sports events.
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