The Benue State House of Assembly has summoned Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Limited, the contractor handling the upgrade and renovation of the Aper Aku Stadium, to appear before it on Wednesday, 2 April 2025, News360 Nigeria reports.
The contractor is expected to explain why the state government should not terminate the contract and refer it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for the recovery of funds.
This decision followed a motion by Minority Leader Michael Audu who accused the contractor of abandoning the project despite receiving N1.3 billion out of the N1.7 billion contract sum.
Audu lamented that aside from minor upgrades to the dressing rooms and toilets, as well as repainting the main bowl, key project components such as the track, scoreboards, playing turf, and floodlights remain uninstalled.
He also revealed that the contractor has requested additional payments running into hundreds of millions of naira, including N300 million for clearing synthetic grass from the port before returning to the site.
The Assembly directed the Ministry of Finance to halt further payments and summoned the Finance Commissioner and the Commissioner for Sports, Youth, and Creativity to appear alongside the contractor.
Lawmakers, including Chief Whip Peter Ipusu, Deputy Whip Cephas Dyako, and Majority Leader Saater Tiseer, expressed disappointment, accusing the contractor of holding the state to ransom despite receiving substantial funds.