Jonathan Approves Concession of National Stadium

President Goodluck Jonathan (GCFR) has approved the concession of the National Stadium in Lagos.

According to Special Assistant on Media and Strategy to Honourable Minister for Sports, Julius Ogunro, the approval was granted last week.

With the approval, the Honourable Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi will constitute the Project Steering Committee and the Project Delivery Committee, which will liaise with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to draw up modalities for the concessioning.

The Federal Executive Council set up a committee in September 2012 to look into the mode of maintenance of federal stadia and to develop a sustainable funding framework for sports in general.

That committee in turn set up a technical sub-committee, which would in collaboration with the Bureau of Public and Enterprise (BPE) and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), recommend the most viable option for the maintenance of the six federal stadia.

The Technical Sub-Committee recommended the involvement of private sector participation in the management and operations of the stadia with concessioning as the preferred and most sustainable approach. It also recommended that the concession of the federal stadia should start with Nation al Stadium, Lagos.

Ogunro also confirmed that further announcements concerning the commencement of the process would be made soon.