The Deputy Chairperson, FIFA Men’s Competition Committee, Amaju Pinnick, says uninformed Nigerians are damaging the image of the country over the controversy surrounding Kebbi stadium.
Pinnick made this statement on Thursday in an interview on Arise Television monitored by NEWSUNPLUG.
NEWSUNPLUG recalls that former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh accused the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, of pocketing $1 million from FIFA meant to build a stadium in Kebbi state.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, had said that nobody in the commission received the $1.2 million from the Federation of International Football Association, FIFA, for the Kebbi stadium project.
Reacting during an interview on Arise Television, Pinnick said that the procedures used to award the contract for the construction of the stadium in Kebbi were of global standard and aligned with Nigeria’s Procurement Act.
“The processes, the protocols and the procedures used to award those contracts were global and also in line with our Public Procurement Act. Everything went through the books. Tenders were made and companies bidded for the job.
“The company that won the bid has a proven track record in stadium construction in Nigeria. When the contract, valued at $1.2 million, was awarded, the equivalent amount in Nigerian Naira was about N400 million. Even with the impact of COVID-19, there was no variation in this amount,” he said.