Tuesday, September 26, 2017
EXTRATIME
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Andrew Ekejiuba igeria’s Christopher Bulus failed in his bid to land a major international title over the weekend, following a 0-6, 1-6 loss to Eliakim Coulibaly of Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the ITF U18 Circuit in Togo. The 16-year-old Aces Tennis Club of Lagos player went into the game with a bright chance as he puts up a com-
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Bulus bags silver in ITF Junior Circuit manding display to beat Coulibaly’s compatriot, Alex Cyrille Lago 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinal but he endured a battering from the 15-year-old, who hits series of forehand winners in an opening set bagel win. Bulus’ last two meetings with the Ivorian had seen him win the opening set but unlike Coulibaly who clawed back to win on
both occasions - including the final of a similar tournament in April - there was no way back for the 2017 CBN Open quarter finalist as he was puzzled by the dominant and aggressive style of the player who is fast becoming one of the fiercest junior players in Africa since his move in 2015 to the
ITF High Performance Centre in Casablanca, Morocco. The final week began on Monday and it remained to be seen if Bulus will cap his display with the top prize having placed third in the Benin Leg won by homeboy Delmas N’tcha, who was halted by Coulibaly in the semi-final.
Bulus
Hand over National Stadium to Lagos, Olympia tells FG Andrew Ekejiuba
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s more Nigerians continue to lament the decay of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, former national heavyweight wrestling champion, Christopher Columbus Madogwe popularly known as “Mr Olympia 1” has urged the Federal Government to handover the edifice to the Lagos State Government for proper maintenance and usage. Olympia who is the immediate past secretary of Nigeria (PRO) Wrestling Federation, noted that it is worrisome that the stadium which is a national pride and has hosted important sporting events in the past has been abandoned with almost all the facilities in terrible state; saying it is a national disgrace. “It’s very unfortunate that the national stadium which is a national monument is now in total disrepair. I remember in those days when as a young boy, we saw it as a pride to go to the stadium and watch some sporting events but it is unfortunate that such an edifice which has hosted important sporting events is now a shadow of itself,” he said with a tinge of regret. “When you visit the National Stadium, you will be shocked with the level of decay there. A section of the covered stand of the main bowl has been blown off, the grasses turned to brown, and the tartan tracks have all peeled off. The Indoor Sports Hall, knock- up hall, squash hall, wrestling arena, boxing gym and others including the offices are in terrible condition and as such something urgent need to be done about it,“ he stated. According to him, the Federal Government should do the needful and hand over the stadium to the Lagos State Government who will be in a better position to repair it and bring back its lost glory. “There is need for the Federal Government to hand it over to the Lagos State Government for proper maintenance because the Federal Government have a lot of responsibilities to contend with and if the stadium is handed over to Lagos, I believe the state will turn around the fortune and put it back to maximum use,” he concluded.
National stadium Lagos
Ambode okays Onikan Stadium reconstruction
Athletes, officials in Niger grumble over unpaid allowances
Benjamin Omoike
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agos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Sunday approved the rehabilitation and upgrade of the 5,000 capacity Onikan Stadium, near Tafawa Balewa Square Lagos Island, in order to make it meet the expectations of a 21st Century sporting facility. The stadium’s upgrade is also in line with the new Onikan-Marina Regeneration plan. In a statement issued by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the State Government said the upgrade demonstrates its commitment to use sports as a potent tool for development and job creation; adding that the stadium, which is the oldest in Nigeria, was originally built in 1930 but was last renovated in the 1980s. According to the Commissioner, the reconstruction of the stadium is in consonance with the vision of the present administration to transform the facility and other infrastructure within the locality into a tourism hub and make the stadium available for various sporting activities, especially football. “The upgrading of the stadium will rekindle the interest of football fans in local league, as well as promote sports tourism, take sports to greater heights and encourage youth activities,” he said. While noting that the upgraded stadium will further cement the State’s desire to attain a Host City status for local and international tournaments, Ayorinde remarked that it would also impact positively on the State’s revenue gener-
Saka Bolaji, Minna Ambode
ation.Elaborating on the scope of the upgrade, the Commissioner said the work would entail complete demolition of the existing facility, removal of the old turf, pitch, underground drainage and artificial pitch base. He further stated that rehabilitation works would also be done on external and internal walls, electrical and mechanical installations; paved driveways, perimeter fence; borehole and water reticulation as well as external electricity lighting and landscaping, amongst others. Onikan Stadium has, over the years, served as a multi-purpose stadium used for many social and political activities apart from hosting of football matches but its fortunes nosedived in the past few years due to inadequate funding and maintenance. He added that the reconstruction and upgrade of the stadium would complement the adjoining JK Randle Arts Centre, the proposed Lagos Museum, the Lagos History Centre as well as the Lagos Heritage Centre which are all tourism-inspired projects.
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ver 140 athletes and officials that participated in the just concluded National Youth Games held in Ilorin, Kwara State are now grumbling over their unpaid allowances. The athletes and officials who have been visiting the state sports council in Minna since their arrival over two weeks ago now wants Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to come to their rescue. According to investigations, it has been revealed that officials of the state sports council have also been avoiding the athletes since their arrival. Extra Time gathered that the athletes and their officials were being owed over N49m. According to the findings before the athletes departed Minna for the games they were told that they would be paid only for three days pending when the ministry of finance will release the bulk of the approved budget. They were told that the sports council had to borrow N10m from one staff to enable the team leave for Ilorin. One of the officials who preferred anonymity said each athlete was given N9000 for three days while the officials got N15,000 for the same period. The money according to the findings was far below the newly approved basic traveling allowance BTA of N12,000 for senior civil servants and N5000 for junior workers per day.