By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Several weeks after the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development handed over the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja to Dangote Group for the renovation of the mainbowl pitch and the scoreboards, work has stalled at the site.
Prompt News visit to the mainbowl at the weekend revealed that no worker of Aron Construction Limited, a company which is undertaking the renovation work on behalf of Dangote Group was seen at the site.
Our reporter met heaps of sharp sand dumped inside the excavated mainbowl pitch while the two scoreboards at both sides of the goalposts are not fixed yet, although the old scoreboards have since been dismantled.
A security guard keeping close eyes at the facilities at Package A of the MKO Abiola Stadium who pleaded anonymity disclosed that he has not seen the Aron Construction Limited workers at the site for some time now.
According to our sources, the construction workers who were earlier seen at the site dismantling the scoreboards and excavating the grasses in the mainbowl pitch have suddenly disappeared from the site.
Although the construction company has been given up to the first quarter of 2021 to deliver the job, the reality on ground when Prompt News visited the stadium does not suggest that the deadline will be met by the company with the speed the work is being executed.
Prompt News can confirm that no single grass has been brought to the site to replace the excavated mainbowl pitch just as the heaps of sharp sand dumped in the site are yet to be levelled.
The Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development handed over the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja to Dangote Group for the renovation work at an elaborate ceremony recently in the presence of top government officials including the Chairman of
Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Ogba.
The hand over which was done under the Adopt-A-Pitch campaign of the ministry initiated by the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare was part of the sports development programmes of the minister.
The Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja formerly known as National Stadium Abuja which hosted
the 2003 All Africa Games (COJA 2003) and which was supposed to be the home turf of Nigeria’s senior male football team, Super Eagles and all the national football teams have not hosted any match in a decade.
This state of affairs may continue with the snail-speed with which the present renovation works are progressing.
