The collapse of one of the floodlights at Lagos National Stadium in Surulere on Monday has been attributed to the lack of regular maintenance of the country’s sporting facilities by the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare. The incident occurred hours after a thunderstorm accompanied by a rainstorm, but fortunately, no casualties were recorded.

Dare expressed his disappointment that the stadium, which holds a substantial portion of Nigeria’s rich sports history and past football glory, was abandoned for 19 years without any sponsor or substantial budget to revive the edifice. He criticized nine of his predecessors who failed to fix the stadium, which had segments of the seating terraces already suffering structural defects.

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The minister disclosed that since his appointment, he had been working towards rehabilitating parts of the stadium, including the football pitch, athletics tracks, and electronic scoreboard. He attributed the procurement and payment to contractors solely to the sponsor, Sir Kesington Adebutu (Baba Ijebu).

Dare provided an update on ongoing efforts by the ministry under his watch to refurbish obsolete stadiums and sports facilities, estimating that N21bn would be required to fully revive the Lagos National stadium with modern updates.

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In the meantime, the minister has requested that the Director of Facilities in the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, Engineer Analamu, proceed to Lagos to assess the situation on the ground.