By ALIYU LAWAL; Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago says the State government is to construct a 30,000-seater capacity stadium which will be completed within a short period of time.
The Governor stated this when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Football Federal led by its President, Ibrahim Gusau at the Government House Minna.
Umar Bago said the stadium when completed will change the landscape of sports in the State as it will have accommodation, hotel, and a complete ecosystem required of a global standard international stadium.
According to him, his administration is renovating the Bako Kontagora memorial stadium as the stadium has been in existence for a long time and needs to be overhauled to meet the required standard.
The Governor said, the overhaul which is an interim measure will be completed within thirty days and will be ready to host the home matches for Niger Tornadoes football club in next season’s Nigeria Professional Football League Season, stressing that the idea of creating a sports commission is to move away from bureaucratic bottleneck in sports.
In his remarks, President, Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau appreciated the efforts of the Governor towards sports development, and said the idea of the Governor to build a befitting world standard stadium is highly commendable as it will avail the State the opportunity to host top matches involving the Super Eagles.