Creative Industry

MKO Abiola Stadium Abuja Can Be A Major Tourist Destination If……FCT Minister

Published

4 years ago

June 18, 2020

…As FCTA, Sports Ministry partner on Stadium Rehabilitation

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has revealed that the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja can really become a major tourist destination within the country if the rehabilitation works are done properly.

To this end, the FCT Administration will partner with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development for the rehabilitation of the in Abuja so that it can be utilized to its fullest potentials.

Malam Bello, made this disclosure when he received Mr. Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports in his office on Thursday, in Abuja.

According to him, the stadium is a very important public monument in Abuja which he said has not served its full potential. He said that after the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the stadium is the second most iconic public edifice in Abuja, noticeable immediately upon arrival into the city.

Speaking on working with the Sports Ministry to rehabilitate the stadium, Malam Bello said: “rehabilitating the stadium is going to be in our own joint interest, not only as an Administration but as a people … particularly now that it’s very clear that moving abroad for holidays or for short trips that were the popular pastime of many in Nigeria, is not going to be as it used to be”

“As a matter of fact, in the last two and a half months, flights have not flown out or come into this country. So, it is now that we will start to appreciate the beauty of what we have across the country. Each the time I go to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, I feel very delighted and proud that we have something like this in Nigeria”.

He advised the Sports Ministry to work out a long term sustainable plan with the private sector to open up the various facilities in the stadium for public use.

While offering the expertise of the relevant departments of the FCTA for the rehabilitation process, the FCT Minister said that attention should be focused on vegetation control, waste evacuation, and lighting. According to him, the stadium is exceptionally beautiful when lit up at night. He said that if the rehabilitation works are done properly, the stadium can really become a city within a city and be a major tourist destination within the country.

Speaking earlier, the Minister, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Dare, said that the Moshood Abiola Stadium was one of the four Federal Government stadia across the country and the Ministry is committed to ensuring that the iconic monument came back to life and full functionality for the benefit of the sporting community and the entire country.

In the words of the Sports Minister, “the stadium as it is, is not just for sportsmen and women alone. It is built in such a comprehensive way that it is a city within a city with a 5,000 capacity parking lot, a 64,000 capacity sitting arena, 54 executive suites furnished, all locked up that can be rented and given out; about nine different football practice pitches, Olympic sized swimming pool and eight massive generators. We have a stream that runs across it and a massive expanse of land to build a five-star hotel. We want to turn it into a piece of real estate and a sporting facility that will be the pride of this country and the pride of Africa and we think that the FCT will be a worthy partner”.

In attendance at the meeting were the Permanent Secretaries of the FCTA, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, and the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development Mr. Gabriel Tanimu Aduda and other senior members of staff of both organizations.

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Creative Industry

New Sheriff In Town: Wike Champions First Abuja Investment Summit & Expo 2023

Published

6 months ago

October 20, 2023

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The maiden edition of the Abuja Investment Summit and Expo 2023 takes off in the Federal Capital Tuesday 14th – Wednesday 15th November, 2023, as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike champions the Annual event to unlock the abundant investment opportunities of the territory for greater economic and industrial growth of the city.

In a statement signed by MNIPR, MITPNDirector, of Communications Ahmed Mohammed Sule on Thursday in Abuja, stated that the Summit and Expo is coming on the heels of Wike’s resolve as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to make a difference in improved infrastructure, security, and socio service provisions for inhabitants of the Federal capital city and its environs, against the backdrop of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Scheduled to hold at the Velodrome, Package ‘A’ of the M.K.O. Abiola National Stadium Abuja, the Abuja Investment Summit and Expo christened: ‘Unlocking the Investment Opportunities of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory is made up of two sessions; The Summit, which will be an interactive session to examine and explore critical areas of investment opportunities in the FCT by expert speakers and panel of discussants.

The other is the Exhibition aspect which provides the window for FCTA Mandate Secretariats and their Agencies, Departments, and Units, allied exhibitors from Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as Organized Private Sector (OPS) companies, firms and corporate organizations to showcase their businesses and projects with the view to attracting investors for a collaborative partnership to grow their respective sectors.

According to highlights made available to the press on the essence of the Summit and Expo, they include; the promotion and marketing of the Federal Capital Territory as a safe investment destination in Africa, the creation of a platform for networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration among investors, entrepreneurs, government officials and other stakeholders and the showcasing of the potentials of Abuja as an investment destination, in addition to portraying the city’s socio-economic and cultural strengths.

As an annual event of impeccable repute and global standards, organizers say the Abuja Investment Summit and Expo 2023 seeks to showcase the potential of Abuja as an investment destination, create a platform for networking and collaboration as well and promote economic growth that will boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and development in the city.

Adding that events and activities lined up for the two-day program are meant to awaken the economic potential of the Federal Capital Territory through the provision of a series of action-oriented and implementable dialogues with multi-faceted stakeholders invited as investors, speakers, panelists, and exhibitors to the Summit and Expo

Indicators from the Organizing Secretariat of the Abuja Investment Summit and Expo revealed quite a number of Ministers have signified their intentions to lead their Agencies and parastatals to the Summit and leverage the opportunities it presents to showcase their sectoral mandates in stimulating investments for the economic growth and development of not only the Federal Capital Territory but the country as a whole.

The Federal Capital Territory Secretariats as primary targets will be showcasing viable Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects offering opportunities for investors to leverage on the various business attractions from both the government and individual stakeholders who will be in attendance and to afford financing opportunities for credible investors to access funding for various sector involvements including InfoTech, Agricultural and Agro-processing, Oil and Gas, Mining, Road and Building Projects, Health, Transport, Tourism and Hospitality, Real Estate and Property development and a myriad of Infrastructural Development projects

Worthy of note, as posited by the Organizing Committee, is that the benefits to the FCT is that the Summit and Expo will help boost developmental activities in Abuja and its environs; create of over 500,000 job opportunities for the Abuja populace and its environs; drive the socio-economic growth of the Federal Capital Territory, which is a fundamental aspect of the ‘Renewed Hope’ mantra of President’s Tinubu’s administration

It is expected that the Abuja Investment Summit and Expo will objectively result in stimulating deals and securing transactions for the accelerated economic development of the FCT in industrialization and manufacturing, creation of economic zones and industrial parks, trade logistics for regional integration, structural transformation for private sector competitiveness, skill development and job creation among others.

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