The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has defended its decision to cancel the contract for the construction of the FIFA-assisted mini stadium in Ugborodo, Delta State. According to NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, the contractor failed to return to the project site within the agreed timeframe even after receiving roughly $500,000 for the work.
The firm in charge of the project, Monimichelle Sports, has taken the matter to court, demanding N10 billion in compensation over what it described as an unlawful contract termination and the abandonment of the stadium.
The Ugborodo mini stadium was designed as a counterpart to the FIFA-funded project in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, both of which were financed under the FIFA Forward Programme — an initiative aimed at supporting football infrastructure across member countries. Each project was valued at about $1.2 million. However, while the Birnin Kebbi facility has been functional for nearly two years, the Ugborodo project remains uncompleted.
As the controversy over the management of funds deepened, the CEO of Monimichelle Sports, Ebi Egbe, denied any wrongdoing and emphasized that his company is already pursuing legal action against the NFF for what he called an illegal termination of their agreement.
“Corruption is a pervasive issue in Nigerian football, and Monimichelle Sports will not contribute to it. We are currently involved in a court case with the Nigeria Football Federation concerning the illegal termination of our contract without proper procedures. Moreover, we are taking legal action against the NFF for misleading the Nigerian public and defamation, seeking N10bn in damages,” Egbe said in a post shared on social media and obtained by The PUNCH.
In its defense, the NFF claimed that the contractor was issued a two-week notice to resume work earlier this year but failed to comply, leading to the cancellation of the deal.
“There’s no new contractor. The only thing was that we gave him two weeks to return to the site and reach the level of the money paid to him. FIFA was aware, and he did not go back to the site, so it stands terminated because it is FIFA’s money,” Sanusi explained.
“It was FIFA who directed us on what to do, and we gave him time.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, Harrison Jalla, countered claims made by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, insisting that FIFA indeed released funds through the NFF. He also revealed details of the payments made to Monimichelle Sports.
“On October 25, 2020, with reference number S47547746 and transaction details PHUB: FT 2029003132/CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA, the sum of USD 262,116.28 was transferred to the First Bank account of the contractor handling the Ugborodo project as the first tranche payment,” Jalla said.
“On May 7, 2021, through the same account details, another sum of USD 306,045.52 was transferred. These are the only payments the contractor has received so far.”
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