NATIONAL athletics, Innocent Egbunike has appealed to the Lagos State Government; the host the Lagos 2012 National Sports Festival to raise the standard of the games and restore the atmosphere characterized the festival at inception.

Speaking during a visit to Teslim Balogun Stadium over the weekend where he met with the Lagos State Commissioner of Sports Mr. Wahid Enitan Oshodi and the Lagos 2012 Games Secretary General Dr. Kwenku Tandoh, Egbunike who recalled how an x-try prevented from participating in the Oluyole’79 National Sports Festival said

“In the 1970 and the 1980, when we have the National Festival then, everything stops; the attention of the whole country is focused on the event. Winners of the events especially, the 100m and other high profile events become instant national hero. But now the festival has become more like a ritual that just come and go”.

Egbunike posited that Lagos hosting at this critical stage of the history of the games present an opportunity to restore it lost glory, ‘’ Even in far away United States, we all know that the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola is doing a fantastic job, especially in area of infrastructure development, I am appealing to the Governor to please restore the games lost glory, to prevent the use of machinery athletes and recreate the atmosphere that we have in the 1970 and 1980.”

Speaking, the Sports Commissioner Mr. Oshodi said he does not envy Egbunike who was last week appointed National Athletics Coach , “ but we are hopeful and optimistic that we will win medal of any colour”