The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has said that the government needs N81 million to cut the grass that has taken over the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
He made the revelation while speaking during a seminar organised by the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria.
The minister said he had reached out to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board for an assessment of the stadium, which was built in 2003 with N53 billion on a 29 hectares (72 acres) of land, Daily Trust reports.
“We approached AEPB to come to see what can be done to clear the grass and weed in the stadium and they told us it would cost us N81m.
“If we tell Nigerians we used N81m which is not even available; there will be an outcry. The funds are not there for us, and that is why we are partnering with private investors to bring back the key components of our infrastructures,” he said.
