Opinion: APC to use Abuja Main Bowl Stadium for presidential rally, polluting sports fraternity

APC to use Abuja Main Bowl Stadium for presidential rally, polluting sports fraternity

By Niyi Busari

Abuja National Stadium (also known as National Stadium or Abuja Stadium) is a multipurpose national sports stadium located in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian national football team, as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.

As the general elections approach, political parties are campaigning and adopting different strategies on how to convince the public to vote them into the corridor of power.

The ruling party, All Progressive Congress, APC, is reportedly planning to have its last presidential campaign at the Main bowl of the National Stadium Abuja on Wednesday, 13th February 2019.

This is the same stadium that has suffered neglect from the federal government for several years. This is one of the major reasons why the Nigeria national teams do not have a permanent home ground as play their matches from one state to another.

The NFF on the other hand, see it as an opportunity to seek state government intervention by sponsoring and footing the bills while collecting same funds from federal government.

The stadium which was declared opened in 2003 after the Nigerian government coughed out a whopping $360 million as construction cost has now become a laughing stock and eyesore due to lack of maintenance by the federal government.

Using stadia for a political campaign by state or federal government should be condemned as such an act will leave the pitch and stadium premises in worse condition than they meet it. It is high time the federal government shift their attention to maintaining all national stadia in Nigeria. The state of the stadia is nothing to write home about and need urgent government intervention to put them to use once again.