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FIFA U-17: Fashola Receives Report, Commends Members Of LOC Lagos Subseat

May 21, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Friday received the report of the State's Sub-Seat of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria from October 24 to November 15, 2009.

The Amanze Uchegbulam chaired Committee which presented the Report to the Governor at the Lagos House Ikeja, also used the opportunity to thank him for the support he extended to the Committee during the period, which, according to the chairman, facilitated its success.

In his remarks at the short ceremony, Governor Fashola commended the members who, according to him, worked both individually and collected to deliver a quality job worthy of emulation both within and outside the country.

The Governor recalled that Nigeria would have lost the right to host the tournament but for the performance of Lagos in terms of provision of standard facilities as recommended by the World Soccer governing body.

He told the members, "It is important to underscore what you have achieved. I recall that Mr. Jack Warner was on his way out of this country to write a report that we were not ready to host the tournament. He, of course, had not visited Lagos. It was when he got to Lagos that he said 'well, if you people can do it with this local capacity, then the rest of the country could do it' and he was ready to give Nigeria one more chance if all other hosting states would come to Lagos and see what we have done and adopt it as a standard".

"We would have lost the tournament but for the great work which you men and women did for this State and for this country and I thank you very much for it", the Governor said adding, however, that the State Government was never at any time in doubt that the Committee would deliver the goods.

Commending the leadership of the Committee, Governor Fashola said, "When the idea to host the tournament was mooted and Lagos was considered as a sub-seat, I had no doubt in my mind who was going to be the chairman. Amanze Uchegbulam and myself have been a long way back and in all of my interactions with him, I have found him a man with utmost integrity, courage and the fear of God. I will recommend him for any public appointment with my eyes closed because I know he will go there and do what is right".

"No less goes for the men and women who served in the Sub-Seat of the Lagos LOC. They are men and women we know have a track record and commitment to the development of this State; for the development of this country. They are professional people who have the knowledge of what is at stake and the knowledge of how to go about it", he said adding that in spite of the challenges of working together, the Committee was able "to deliver a wonderful tournament for Lagos and for Nigeria".

On the necessity for the report, Governor Fashola said, 'I assure you that this is not just a report submission exercise. It is a way of our Government that everything we open, we intend to close and keep records for the future. We found out that having hosted a FIFA tournament in 1999, we seemed to have started again from the beginning in 2009. Where the records were is too difficult to reach".

"We will document this report as a basis for the future. I have said before, this country can host the Olympic if Brazil could do so. This country can host the World Cup if South Africa could do so. We just need to plan and be futuristic; we just need to be detailed and meticulous", he said.

The Governor assured the Committee that the Report would be kept as a reference document for future generations "to see where we stopped, the mistakes we made, what challenges we faced and it will enable them move forward if Nigeria hosts a bigger or the same tournament in future", adding, "We will keep these records in public libraries, in government libraries and our Ministry of Information and you can be sure you will find it in the Lagos State Library website".

Governor Fashola also assured the committee that in terms of managing and maintaining the equipment left after the tournament, the State Government has confidence in the present Maintenance Manager to keep them safe and in very Spartan condition, subject to the regular and normal wear and tear.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Chairman of the Sub-Seat, Mr. Amanze Uchegbulam, thanked the Governor for the support he gave to the Committee, which made its work easy.

The Chairman, who handed over a cheque of N1, 825, 000. 21k to Governor Fashola as balance of the amount given to the Committee to work with, said the Committee could not have achieved its success without the cooperation of some Government officials such as the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, the Special Adviser on Transportation and the Chief of Staff among others.

On the scorecard of the Committee, Uchegbulam said it scored many firsts both during and after the tournament including being the first to be given a takeoff grant, the first to attract Private Sector Participation and the first to close the competition with a fanfare, among other firsts.

Also present at the occasion were the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele, Chief of Staff, Mr. Lanre Babalola, Special Adviser on Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa other members of the Sub-Seat such as Mr. Walter Oyatogun, Tony Ubani and others as well as other top government functionaries.