The Ogun State government has begun renovation of the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, to provide adequate comfort for spectators.

Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, said in a statement on Saturday that the 10,000-capacity stadium would be fully covered to ensure a facelift.

He said that the renovation was part of Governor Abiodun’s promise to raise the bar of sports and sporting activities in Ogun.

According to him, it is a follow-up to the money spent on the state’s contingent to the just-concluded 2022 National Sports Festival hosted by Delta State.

He said that the reconstruction of the stadium started on Friday and had continued to Saturday morning as more materials and workers arrived the site.

The governor’s aide said that the facelift was expected to be completed in four weeks.

He noted that the stadium, named after the winner of the June 12 presidential election, MKO Abiola, who also hailed from Abeokuta, had been used as a multi-sports event centre for over two decades.

He said the stadium had played host to state-owned and private football clubs, including the Gateway Football Club and Abiola Babes International Football club.

“While the stadium has played host to local and international football matches, it has also produced stars that have proven their mantle globally in the world of sports,” he said.

Mr Somorin said that about 20 per cent of the stadium had been covered as at press time.

He said that arrangement to cover the whole spectators stand would add beauty, comfort and further raise the standard of the facility.

He added that it would also prepare the stadium for the 2023 National Sports Festival, which Ogun State recently got the right to host.

(NAN)