The Chairman of the Kebbi State Football Association, Alhaji Abubakar Chika-Ladan, has denied claims of fund diversion and poor execution of the FIFA Mini-Stadium project in the state.
Speaking with journalists in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday, Chika-Ladan said the facility was fully completed more than two years ago and had been in use since then, contrary to what was being circulated on social media.
“There have been several insinuations that the project was not completed or that funds were misappropriated by the National Football Federation. We are here to show the world that the mini-stadium was completed and has been in use since then,” he said.
He explained that the stadium had hosted several national and local matches, noting that Kebbi United Football Club used it as its home ground last season, while Zamfara United also relocated to Kebbi to use the facility.
“What people are saying is only a figment of their imagination. Those spreading such rumours are enemies of progress and of Nigeria,” he added.
According to Chika-Ladan, the project was managed directly by FIFA, which appointed both the contractor and consultant through an international bidding process won by Nigerian firms.
He said the 1.8 million dollar project (about N400 million at the time) covered a 250-seat pavilion, a medical clinic, dressing rooms, perimeter fencing, landscaping, and other facilities.
“The Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mr Shehu Dikko, has already provided clarification on the project’s implementation,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Kebbi, Mr Mansur Senchi, urged the group’s national leadership to caution those spreading false claims about the project.
“For someone to sit in another part of the country and write bogus, unfounded stories is unacceptable. We will no longer tolerate it,” Senchi said.
The mini-stadium in Birnin Kebbi, funded under FIFA’s Forward Programme, had come under public scrutiny after FIFA used its image on a social media banner, which triggered outrage and questions about its value.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, clarified that FIFA, not the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), handled the mini-stadium’s construction and financing.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Dikko said, “No one collected the money. FIFA manages its projects directly. The job of NFF is to provide the land and say, ‘This is what we want.’ At the end of the day, FIFA appoints and pays the contractor.”
