Barely three months into the conduct of the 25th edition of Nigerian University Games scheduled to hold at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, the institution is still battling to fix facilities.
Investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria on facilities expected to be used by the school during the games showed that only the tartan tracks were ready.
The indoor sports facilities were still in poor shape, while hostels expected to accommodate athletes were still at the lintel stage of construction.
The investigations also showed that the school was relying on facilities at the Aper Aku Stadium, several kilometres from the university, to stage some of its indoor sports.
Reliable sources at the university, however, disclosed that another challenge associated with the use of external facilities was the non-availability of buses to convey athletes to such venues.
They claimed that the university had no such vehicles to convey athletes to games venues.
The investigations revealed that the uncompleted projects had become a thorn in the flesh of the institution, whose hosting rights had been challenged by other institutions on the grounds of its status.
Efforts to speak with principal officers of the university failed as they engaged the reporter in a tossing game, turning him from the Director of Sports to the Chairman of NUGA Games and the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, who all declined comments.
Sources at the university also said the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, was shopping for sponsors to complete the projects at various stages.
They regretted that that the school was facing financial challenges, especially over the hosting of the games.
However, the university spokesperson, Rosemary Waku, told NAN that most projects were under construction and would be ready soon.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
