The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has declared a state of emergency on the Sports Academy, Akwanga, to enable the state government to give it urgent attention.

The chairman, House committee on youths and sport development, Mohammed Isimbabi, made the call on Friday when he led members of the committee on an inspection of the Sports Academy in Akwanga and other sporting facilities.

The committee also inspected sports facilities in Lafia, Akwanga, Keffi, among others.

The committee chairman said that the state Sports Academy that had produced local, national and international athletes who are making significant impacts needed attention due to its dilapidated nature of the facility.

Mr Isimbabi said that the state assembly will promulgate law to legalise the institution to woo investors with the view to closing the deficit gap in infrastructure.

He said that the inspection of sporting facilities across the state was to acquaint itself with their status, and identify areas that needed intervention for necessary action.

” This is to ascertain the state of sporting facilities with a view to resuscitating them for economic viability,” he said.

He said that the resuscitation of sporting facilities would improve revenue generation in the state.

Mr Isimbabi commended Gov. Abdullahi Sule for renovating sports facilities to conform to modern reality and the best standard.

He pledged enhanced synergy with government to give the sector more lifeline.

In an interview, the state commissioner for youth and sports development, Kwanta Yakubu, said that the ministry is fine-tuning long and short-term budgets for the governor’s approval to resuscitate abandoned and dilapidated sporting facilities in the state.

Mr Yakubu corroborated the position of Mr Isimbabi that sports is no longer for entertainment alone but a business venture with huge revenue potential.

He said that the state will not be exempt from utilising the sector for the betterment of its citizenry.

The commissioner said that the ministry under his watch is matching words with action to achieve the best in the sporting industry.

(NAN)