Despite the Kwara State Government releasing millions of naira for the renovation of the volleyball court at the Stadium complex, the sporting facility is still in a deplorable state.
The Government disclosed the amount it spent on the renovation of the facility while reacting to an investigative report published by The Informant247.
The medium had reported that the indoor sports hall of the Kwara State Stadium in Ilorin, despite the release of over N72 million for its renovation, remains in shambles, housing reptiles, and downsizing the momentum of sporting men and women who ought to be training at the facility.
Kwara govt misappropriated money meant for Indoor Sports Hall – Sports Commission
While the commission admitted that the state government spent N72m on sporting facilities, it also confirmed that the said fund was not expended on ‘Stadium indoor sports hall’ which it was lawfully and originally meant for.
According to a statement by the Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Mogaji, he agreed that the N72m in contention was meant for the renovation of the stadium’s indoor sports hall.
Instead of spending the funds for the specific purpose it was appropriated, Magaji admitted that the government spent N72,485,773.22 on rehabilitation/repairs of swimming pool, basketball court, volleyball court, and squash court, whereas, the indoor sports hall for which the fund was originally appropriated actually have nothing to show for it.
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“The said funds were disbursed as follows: N2,283,385 on 29 January, 2021; N6,000,000 on 18 March, 2021; N5,772,852.26 on 7 April, 2021; N27,853,745 on 16 April, 2021; N8,186,420 on 1 July, 2021; N10,405,889.74 on 1 November, 2021; N4,813,579 on 5 November, 2021; and N7,169, 900.09 on 22 December, 2021.
“For the record, these projects were executed by Cytech Eng. Construction and Tech (Basketball and Volleyball); Atomike Consultant Ltd (Squash Court); and Aishruk Global Services Ltd (Swimming Pool),” Magaji said in the statement.
Only painting work was done
The Elites Watch correspondent who visited the volleyball court however observed that despite the release of over N72 million for its renovation, the sporting facility is still in shambles.
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Our correspondent gathered that despite the huge millions of naira purportedly released to Cytech Eng. Construction and Tech for the renovation work, the facility was only painted.
This is in sharp contrast to the claim by the government that it renovated the volleyball court to standard.
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Olarongbe Ishaq, a volleyball athlete described the state of the volleyball facility as unfortunate.
He said, “Like other athletes within the stadium complex, I am saddened about the condition of our volleyball court which has been decrepitated for years even after the government claimed to have renovated it. You can imagine the seats dressed with recycled car tyres and rusted planks. Also, we only witnessed the painting of the court floor while the condition of our dressing rooms and the main volleyball court are in a deplorable state.
“We are however surprised that the Gov. AbdulRazaq-led government has claimed to have spent a huge amount of money to revamp this place. The painting work done here won’t even gulp N50,000,” Ishaq expressed pointing at the peeling (painted) floors inside the volleyball court.
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Approached by THE ELITES WATCH reporter, Omowunmi Alabi lamented the poor management of the volleyball facility, noting that the condition of the volleyball court has hindered the athletes.
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“Imagine athletes coming from another state to engage in a competition with the poor facility you can see here. Part of the setback we have encountered in the past is poor management of our volleyball court. The bad odour from the dressing room is unbearable.”
When contacted, a sports stakeholder in the state who craved anonymity for fear of victimization noted the insincerity of the government is adding to the problem of the athletes.
He added that various rehabilitation claimed to be done across the section of the Stadium complex by the state government are shoddy projects and substandard.
He said, “Let me state it clearly that all the rehabilitation and facelift claimed to have been carried out on various facilities within the stadium complex remain the same. It is either they carried out shoddy or substandard jobs on the facilities.
“I am sure when you finish your story and publish, the Sports Commission Chairman Magaji will still conduct some sports writers around here and tell them what to pick and what not to pick. Most of these writers are on their payrolls. The SWAN chairman here is Kwara United’s spokesperson – So how do you expect them to write something critical of the government or the sports officials? I am not supposed to talk to you on this but for how long will we continue to keep mute while things deteriorate.”
Further findings by this medium revealed that Cytech Eng. Construction and Tech is not a registered firm as the company is not on Corporate Affairs Commission public search.
Similarly, the contractor does not have any online presence describing its contact details. This makes it difficult and impossible to trace. For instance, a Google Search about the firm returns no result as to the contact details of the firm. No email address, Twitter or Facebook accounts.