The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. 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 State government for the turnaround in facilities within a few months, adding that they have raised the bar high for hosting of sporting events in Nigeria.
The Festival will be held at various centres in Benin from 20 March to 4 April.
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Dare said this while speaking to journalists after he undertook an inspection of the hostel accommodation for athletes for Edo 2020 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 hard court, Ogbe hard court is 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.”
Speaking on the level of preparedness to mitigate the spread of the novel Coronavirus also known as Covid-19, the Minister said: “I think beyond the bricks-and-mortar, beyond the tracks, the buildings , the hostels, the other thing they’ve
done so well is containing the spread of the virus. 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 your accreditation done. One Stop Shop.
“They’ve done tremendously well I’m sure tomorrow when they start the daily briefing on medical preparedness for the next six days you will understand the level of work they have done beyond the brick and mortar.”
The minister expressed hope that the competition would throw up talents for the country for future sports events.
