By; MKPUMA ENYINNA, Abakaliki
In his avowed determination to make Ebonyi State one of the sports destinations in the world, Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has declared his intention to complete the ongoing Int’l Olympic Stadium in Ebonyi State in line with International standards.
The governor stated that the purpose for the demolition of parts of the state Olympic stadium, is to make it have an international outlook and standard.
Nwifuru who made this known while addressing stakeholders of the state during the inspection of projects to mark the independence anniversary of Nigeria at 64 and Ebonyi at 28, said the stakeholders will consider renaming of the stadium which was named after Sani Abachi.
According to him: “I have asked China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) to check the cost of demolishing this to the end and demolishing the other side to the end and the implications of not having a complete line. So, the implication of having a complete line is that international and national activities can’t take place here.
“We are building here to compete with the Goodwill Akpabio International Stadium at Akwa Ibom. For us to get to that level, it may warrant us to demolish the two of the whole lines in order to get it right. But considering what we earn as a state, a lot of money has been spent here. And if you spend 50kobo in 2022, now you are going to use 10 Naira to get it right.
“The foundation of the decking has been there; this is not a complete decking. We are stepping up into that. This is not a stadium yet, this is just a taste of what is going to happen. That’s what we invite the Julius Berger to come and do. At the back, there is work that needs to be done at the facility for this place to qualify to be called an international stadium.
“Calling here Sani Abachi International Stadium, it has not been discussed because we are returning Abachi Lodge to Abachi. We have some good brothers, though Abacha did a tremendous job for us. So we can name him (Abacha) one of the best properties, and it forms part of what we are going to discuss.
“This project is going to to form part of the 2025 and 2026 budgets, and that’s why I deem it necessary to bring every stakeholder here to see the level of work done. And also to inform and educate them on the level of the work needed to be done to qualify this project a stadium. That’s why we are here. I must commend my predecessor for initiating this project.”
