National Sports festival might end abruptly over lack of funds

The Local Organizing Committee for Edo 2020 sports fiesta have threatened to end the sports festival on Thursday, April 8 over the failure of the Federal Government to release funds.

This is according to the Coordinator of Media and Publicity, National Sports Festival, Ebomhiana Musa, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday night. 

The decision, he said was taken at the end of a meeting of the Local Organising Committee of the Sports Festival.

“The Local Organising Committee, Edo2020 regrets to announce that it will end the games abruptly tomorrow, Thursday, April 8, 2021, for lack of funds,” the statement read.

“Rising from an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening, the LOC says it has to take this hard decision due to lack of funds having expended its reserves to kick-start the games.

“Regrettably, the FG is yet to redeem its pledge to support us as the host state financially for the cost of postponements. So, we are left with no option than to end the games at noon on Thursday”

The event, which ought to have held last year, was postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The NSF was officially declared open on Tuesday and some events had been decided as of Wednesday night. No fewer than 8,000 athletes from different states of the federation are participating in the festival.

Edo State had raised the alarm over the Federal Government’s failure to provide fund 24 hours to the commencement of the festival.