National Sports Festival Won't Go Into Oblivion, Says Dalung

National Sports Festival Won't Go Into Oblivion, Says Dalung By Niyi Busari The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Barr Solomon Dalung has reassured Nigerians that the ministry has put a mechanism in place which will ensure continuous hosting of the biennial national event, BSNSports.comng reports. Dalung said that two states have already submitted application to host the next edition but they must pass through the test of time before any of them can be handed the hosting the hosting right. He made the statement at the City Gate, Abuja after he received the Festival Torch from FCT Minister, Malam Muhammed Musa Bello, that heralded the Commencement of the games. He said: “We have received two applications from 2 states who have indicated interest and have provided guaranty they will host the next edition. The council on sports will look at it.” Speaking further, Dalung said he is confident that the Festival won’t fade into oblivion. He revealed that plans were in place to ensure that the Festival holds every 2 years. “After the resolution of the national council of sports, we decided to come back and think outside the box and in doing that, we felt that engaging the private sector, it will go a long mitigating against some of these challenges. “After this edition, there is going to be series of mobilisation, going round to educate people, road shows discussing these issues before getting to the Games proper,” he revealed. He however urged the states in the federation to see the National Sports Festival as a national asset, not as federal government project. He further urged them to develop institutions at the state levels to protect these national values.