Just two years after the commissioning of the new secretariat for the Nigeria Football Federation, the football administrators are demanding a staggering N150 million to rehabilitate the complex before moving in.
Amaju Melvin Pinnick, the President, told members of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports that the upgrading was to fix some defects in the structure before the formal relocation from the ‘Glass House’ in Wuse Zone 7, Abuja.
The new secretariat, ”Sunday Dankaro House”, located at the National Stadium, Abuja is a legacy of the Presidential Task Force on South Africa 2010 World Cup. It was commissioned in 2014 at the cost of N333 million from the proceeds generated by the Task Force headed by former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
After revising the players’ match bonuses and fulfilling its key mandate of seeing Nigeria qualify for South Africa 2010, the body decided to use the remaining fund in building a modern football secretariat for NFF.
On Tuesday, during the 2016 budget hearing , Pinnick told the lawmakers that movement to the new office was being delayed because the massive structure had developed cracks and is covered by dust and cobwebs arising from lack of use.
He said the federation intended to augment the N50 million gift from former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Senator Godswill Akpabio for the rehabilitation of the complex. The total cost of upgrading approved by NFF board is N150 million.
According to Pinnick, the contract for the renovation was awarded following tenders and technical advice from the Head of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).
The purpose-built structure has 31 offices including lounges, meeting rooms and a large car park.
”We observed cracks in the wall, the quality of the new complex is going down, the doors becoming rusty and everywhere is overtaken by dust and spider webs because of lack of use,” Pinnick told the House committee headed by Hon. Lawan Goni.
Pinnick said that the proposed spending is a far cry as they still intended to furnish the offices up to corporate taste.
Though the contract for the repairs has been awarded it is yet to be financed as the federation was banking on sponsorship revenues for this year. The projected sponsorship earnings is N792 million.
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