THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Monimichelle Sports, the contractor handling the FIFA-funded mini stadium project in Ugborodo, Delta State, are locked in a dispute over the alleged abandonment of the project and the termination of their contract.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that the General Secretary of the NFF, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, maintains that the football body terminated the contract after the contractor failed to resume work at the site within the deadline given, despite receiving about $500,000 in project funding.
The twin facility in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State funded under the same FIFA Forward Programme has already been completed and in use for nearly two years.
Sanusi told this newspaper that the federation followed FIFA’s directives in the termination, saying the contractor was issued a final two-week ultimatum to return to site earlier this year but failed to comply.
“There’s no new contractor. We gave him two weeks to return to site and reach the level of work expected based on the funds released. FIFA was aware, and he did not go back to site, so it stands terminated because it is FIFA’s money,” Sanusi stated.
The FIFA Forward Programme is designed to support football infrastructure across member nations. Each of the mini-stadiums in Birnin Kebbi and Ugborodo is estimated to cost about $1.2 million, but while one has been completed, the Ugborodo facility remains abandoned with minimal progress recorded.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Monimichelle Sports, Ebi Egbe, denies any wrongdoing and insists the NFF acted illegally by terminating the contract without due process. He has since sued the federation, seeking N10 billion in damages for defamation and breach of contract.
“Corruption is a pervasive issue in Nigerian football, and Monimichelle Sports will not contribute to it,” Egbe said in a recent social media post.
“We are currently involved in a court case with the NFF concerning the illegal termination of our contract. We are taking legal action against the NFF for misleading the Nigerian public and defamation.”
In the midst of the dispute, the President of the PFAN Task Force, Harrison Jalla, also waded into the matter, confirming that the contractor received payments totaling approximately $568,000 in two tranches transferred between October 2020 and May 2021.
He dismissed earlier claims that FIFA did not disburse funds through the NFF, insisting there is documented evidence of the payments.
The stalemate has raised fresh concerns over accountability and transparency in Nigeria’s football infrastructure projects, with local stakeholders calling on FIFA to intervene to prevent further financial loss and stalled development in the grassroots football sector.
