The National Sports Commission (NSC) has taken over the abandoned Ugborodo mini stadium project in Delta State and plans to complete the facility, which will be named after the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko disclosed this during the fifth coronation anniversary of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, where he also participated in a novelty match featuring former Nigerian internationals and other prominent figures in the sports sector.
Dikko said the commission had adopted the project on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after the facility, which was being developed under a FIFA programme, was abandoned.
“We are not leaving just like that. The National Sports Commission, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, has adopted the Ugborodo mini stadium, which was being done by FIFA before,” Dikko said in an update shared on the NSC’s X page.
He said the commission intended to complete the facility as part of its broader plan to develop sports infrastructure across the country.
“After completing it, it is going to be named after our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu,” he said.
The Ugborodo facility is the twin project of the mini stadium in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. Both projects were funded through the FIFA Forward 2.0 Programme, an initiative designed to support football development across FIFA member associations.
Each facility is estimated to be worth about $1.2 million.
While the Birnin Kebbi mini stadium has been operational for about two years, the Ugborodo project has remained incomplete for a similar period.
The project had previously generated controversy within Nigerian football, with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) coming under criticism over the delay in its completion.
The NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, disclosed last year that the federation had terminated the contract of the project handler, Ebi Egbe, after he failed to return to the site within the stipulated period following the payment of an advance of about $500,000.
Egbe subsequently sued the NFF over the termination of his contract. He also maintained that substantial work had already been completed at the site and claimed that the project could be finished with the remaining $700,000 balance.
Following the termination of the contract, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau said the project had not been re-awarded to another contractor and indicated that the NSC would take steps to complete the facility.
