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Football Action Returns to MKO Abiola Stadium Abuja November, Says Contractor

Published

5 years ago

October 11, 2021

….As ministry Inspects the stadium

Joel Ajayi
The Contractor handling the renovation of MKO Abiola National stadium, Executive Director of project, Adedeji Adesoji, has revealed that the newly refurbished stadium project will be ready, come November 2021.

He gave this assurance on Monday, when the Ministry of Youth and Sports inspected the facilities in Abuja.

“We started this work in August, we supposed to finish in March but unfortunately, we have some hitches from the pitch, for example, underground drainage had collapsed after several years of construction, an additional work that took us another three months.

” After that we did all the work up till this stage, everything is working right now.
” We brought in the automatic Scoreboard for recording time, playback, fast-forward, and so many other things. Scoreboard is 100% finished.

“The grass is green, and some corrections are ongoing on the pitch, hopefully next month, we should be able to complete it.
He assured Nigerians that, after handing over of the project, the company will still be around for period of two years for proper maintenance of the edifice.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Development director sports facilities, Engr. Muhammed Babakoby, applauded the contractor for the progress made so far.

“We are here gathered to do the inspection on MKO Abiola Stadium and see progress made so far, but unfortunately the Minister and Alhaji Dangote can’t make it due to the Presidential retreat.

“The Minister appreciated the work, this is a great job.” He admitted.

It will be recalled that, the national heritage National stadium was abandoned for many years by the previous sports administration but the coming of the hard working Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, who is determined to ensure infrastructures are put in place across the country, fastrack the renovation through Private Public Partnership.

Based on Sports Minister’s appeal to the Private individuals to come to the rescue of sports facilities in the country, Alhaji Dangote group inject $1 Million into the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja and today, the new look is beauty to behold and waiting for use.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

18 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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