The House of Representatives Committee on Sports on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the renovated Abuja stadium pitch.

Rep. Godfrey Gaiya, who led his committee members on oversight function to the Abuja Stadium on Tuesday, described the N96.6 million used for the re-grassing of the pitch as “doubtful”.

He told newsmen that as a legislator, he was disappointed with the level of work carried out by Julius Berger PLC as there was not enough drainage to drain the water after the rain.

“The re-grassing is just an aspect of the renovation and they said today that it cost them N96.6 million to do.

“My verdict is that I am not comfortable with the level of water logged on the pitch.

“I was in Calabar and it rained for three days non-stop before the match and you cannot compare Calabar that is in tropical environment to Abuja that is in the Savannah where rain is lighter.

“So, if it rained in Calabar for three days when Nigeria played Malawi and I never saw anything like waterlogged spot, why should ordinary drizzling cause water ponds on the renovated Abuja pitch,” Gaiya asked.

The legislator vowed that the National Sports Commission (NSC) must give detailed account of all their spending for the renovation of the stadium.

Gaiya regretted that he had no powers to summon the contractors, Julius Berger PLC, to explain but maintained that the NSC would be held responsible for any poor job done.

“We never entered into a contractual agreement with Julius Berger. Our oversight function rests on the NSC.

“It is the NSC that will bring its client to order when our observations are made known to them.

“We hope if they can relay the message to Julius Berger to get it done the way every Nigerian will be comfortable with,” he said.
Rep. Gaiya further described as “uncalled for” the ceremony which followed the renovation, noting that it was not a norm in the country to celebrate renovation of projects.

He pointed out that it was only ideal for new projects to be commissioned.

“What will you do if you complete the eight-lane road between Zuba and Airport,” he questioned.

Source: VANGUARD