TERKURA AKAA SAKERA
MAKURDI
The Benue State House of Assembly has summoned Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Limited, the contractor engaged for the upgrading and renovation of Aper Aku Stadium, in Makurdi, for delaying to complete work on the stadium, despite receiving a substantial amount of the contract sum.
The Assembly decried the situation where Monimichelle collected over N1.3 billion, from the total contract sum of N1.7 billion and has also abandoned work on the project.
SportsDay learnt that the delay in completing the project has compelled Lobi Stars Football Club (FC), the state football team to play its home matches away from home, a situation which has exerted so much on the team.
The Lawmakers therefore vowed that they would invoke all the necessary laws to ensure that the contractor appears before it and give reasons for not completing the work on time or contend with the revocation of the contract.
The Assembly which took the decision at plenary therefore summoned Monimichelle to appear before it on Wednesday, adding that failure to do so, the Assembly may be forced to hand him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of efforts to recover state money.
The Minority Leader, Michael Audu, told the House that Government awarded the contract for the upgrading and renovation of Sports facilities at the Aper Aku stadium to Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Limited, to the tune of N1,757,734,319.56.
He further stated that Government took the decision to pay the contractor a large chunk of the money, amounting to N1.339 billion, to ensure that the contractor completed work on the project on time.
Audu lamented that despite the payment of the said sum, apart from the upgrade of the dressing rooms and toilets, as well as the main bowl of the stadium that has been repainted, the track, scoreboards, playing turf and floodlights are yet to be provided.
He registered his displeasure that instead of concentrating on the job specifications as contained in the Contract Agreement, Monimichelle has written several correspondences to the State Government demanding that it pay him an additional N300 million to clear the Synthetic grass at the Port before he would return to site.
In their various contributions, the Chief Whip of the Assembly, Peter Ipusu, the Deputy Whip, Cephas Dyako, and Majority Leader, Comrade Saater Tiseer, expressed their disappointment with Monimichelle, for collecting over N1.3 billion, yet it has held government to ransome over the project.
Therefore, the Assembly directed the State Ministry of Finance to halt further payments to the Contractor, just as it directed the Commissioner of Finance, and the Commissioner of Youths and Sports are to appear before the lawmakers on Wednesday, alongside the Contractor. End.
