NIS, NSC Clash Over 200-Bed Hostel at Abuja Stadium

The National Institute for Sports (NIS) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) have become embroiled in a dispute over the ownership and control of a 200-bed hostel located inside the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

NIS has claimed ownership of the facility, which is situated opposite the Athletes Development Centre at Package B of the stadium, and has ordered unauthorised occupants to vacate the premises by December 31, 2026.

The institute’s Head of Works Department, Jude Abu, made the position known on Monday during a guided tour of the facility with journalists.

Abu said the complex was commissioned as a hostel for NIS students during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and remains an NIS facility.

He pointed to the official plaque commemorating the commissioning of the building as part of the evidence supporting the institute’s ownership claim.

‘The ownership of the property is not in doubt and remains vested in the institute,” Abu said.

The dispute escalated on Sunday after, according to NIS, the NSC removed an official notice placed on the premises by the institute and replaced it with an eviction notice issued in the name of the sports commission.

Abu described the action as provocative and unlawful, insisting that the NSC had no authority over the facility.

He warned all unauthorised occupants and intruders to vacate the premises on or before December 31, failing which NIS would take legal action.

The institute said the hostel is vital to its operations, particularly because it provides accommodation for students enrolled in programmes at the NIS Abuja Centre.

Abu also stressed that NIS and NSC are independent government parastatals, insisting that the institute is not subordinate to the sports commission.

The ownership dispute comes amid the ongoing management of facilities at the MKO Abiola National Stadium and raises questions over the respective mandates and control of government sports establishments within the complex.

The statement was signed by Ben Ogbemudia, Special Adviser on Media to the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIS, ADC Abuja.