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—The Vanguard news
An important legal battle is looming between the former president of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick and Monimichelle Sports Construction Company during the Goal Fifa project in Stal in Ugborodo, Delta State.
The program of FIFA objectives, designed to support the development of football on a global level, was launched under the guidance of the former president of Fifa Joseph S. Blatter and ratified by the FIFA congress in 1999. Under this initiative, two mini-stadiums were approved for Nigeria in 2020-One in Birnin Kebbi and the other in Ugbordo.
While the Bernin Kebbi project was successfully performed and commissioned, the Ugborodo stadium was bogged down in disputes. Pinnick, who supported the project during his mandate, is accusing Monimichelle Sports, led by the contractor born in Bayelsa Ebi Egbe, of violation of the contract and abandoning the project despite having received over half of the sum of the $ 1.1 million contract.
According to Pinnick, Monimichelle received $ 650,000 in two tranches but has only delivered a partial compensation of the site and an incomplete stand. He says that after several failed efforts to move the project, he personally lent to the $ 100,000 and subsequently ₦ 5 million contractor, all documented, but the project was stuck.
Meanwhile, Monimichelle has replied, supporting the manipulation and unfair treatment by the NFF and Pinnick. In a strongly formulated declaration, the contractor declared that he had been induced to sign the contract without a previous inspection of the site. He claims to have discovered only the demanding ground of UgboroDo – crime in the Atlantic without access roads – on the day of the delivery of the site.
“The site was less than a meter from the river, without embankment. We had to move the 100 -meter project to the hinterland, to claim land and level a inclined land of 10 hectares, none of which was in the initial account,” Egbe said. “We trusted Pinnick because he said Ugborodo was his community and had the support of Fifa. It was a big mistake.”
Egbe also said that the construction drawings delivered to his company were poor and initially not approved by the state authorities of the Delta. “It took six months for the NFF consultants to correct the drawings,” he observed. “The Foundation pavilion had to have changed from Pad to Zattera and the Fence Foundation has not yet a design approved after three years.”
Despite multiple meetings with Fifa and Nff, Monimichelle said that there has been no response to recent communications. He added that an independent joint evaluation of the project has estimated its effective value to over $ 3.5 million, in addition to the initial value of the contract. According to him, only $ 500,000 of the approved sum were paid to his company.
The contractor insists that he is ready to defend his reputation and the brand in court.
“Amaju is blackmailing me because I refused to play together with his delegates. Monimichelle is a recognized name in sports construction. We will not allow our brand to be dragged into the mud,” said Egbe.
Pinnick, for his part, sees the UgboroDo project as a personal Legacy initiative for his Itsekiri community. He has been pressing personally for the project to be assigned to a company owned by Nigerian and, according to what reported, has contributed to guaranteeing the documentation and support necessary by the leaders of the community. The former NFF boss has also indicated its numerous other philanthropic efforts in the region, including the Ode-Itkiri field approved by FIFA, scholarships through its Brownhill Foundation and the development of sports facilities in Warri and Ughelli.
However, critics seized project B
To further complicate the saga is the long -standing feud of Pinnick with the former president of Nanf, Harrison Jalla, who accused him of corruption. Despite the layoffs of the court, the accusations continue to feed the suspicion in some neighborhoods.
At the moment, the UgboroDo project is under referee in Lagos, with a new contractor waiting for the termination of the contract with monimichelle.
For the people of Ugbordo, the dream of a standard stage of FIFA is now in the balance, an accident between legal proceedings, political tensions and dissatisfied promises. While both Pinnick and Monimichelle are preparing for a legal duel, the project once ago represents a clear reminder of the fragility of the development efforts in the Nigeria sports sector.
Credit: Vanguard Quotidiano
