The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Christian Chinyeaka Ohaa has confirmed that the ultramodern Olympic-sized swimming pool at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos is ready for use.
Mr Ohaa who had a final inspection of the facility on Friday, 3 June , was taken around the pool arena alongside the Director of Facilities and Stadium Management and Development, Dr Ibrahim Shehu and other top management staff of the ministry by the project contractor, Mr. Joseph Odobeatu .
The changing rooms and toilets were all wearing a new look while the water treatment plant as well as the pumping machines were all replaced with new ones. New seats were also in place at the arena.
While fielding questions from journalists, Mr Ohaa expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation done in the past three months.
“We are happy that the contractor has done a good job despite the paucity of funds. He is trying his best to finish his job as scheduled.”
Ohaa recalled that the contractor, Mr Odobeatu told the Honorable Minister during his last visit in April that the project was about 85% done. The permanent Secretary applauded the contractor for improving on the job as he confirmed that the project is now 92% ready.
“There are a few things left to be done and he is going to finish it soon. We will try our best to do something for him too, so that he will fast-track it. The swimming pool is set to be commissioned any moment from now. Of Course, you know that few weeks ago, the swimmers used this place for training for the Olympic qualifiers so it is already good for use.”
Mr Ohaa declined giving a specific date for the commissioning. “From what we have done today, I will now go back to Abuja and write Mr. President to tell him that the place is ready for commissioning, so if he gives us the date, we will come and do it.”
The Permanent Secretary concluded that one of the key objectives of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is to revive the long forgotten maintenance culture, emphasizing that instead of embarking on new projects, the ones on ground should be well maintained.
