March 28, (THEWILL) – The Benue State House of Assembly has summoned Monimichelle, the contractor handling the renovation of Aper Aku Stadium, to explain why the state government should not terminate the contract and refer him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover funds already paid.
The Assembly also directed the Ministry of Finance to halt further payments to the contractor. Additionally, the Commissioners for Finance and Youths and Sports have been summoned to appear alongside Monimichelle to clarify the situation.
Deliberating on a motion raised during plenary, lawmakers expressed concern that despite receiving N1.3 billion out of the N1.7 billion contract sum, Monimichelle has abandoned the project site.
Leading the motion, Minority Leader Michael Audu informed the House that the Benue State Government, under Governor Hyacinth Alia, awarded the contract for the upgrade and renovation of sports facilities at Aper Aku Stadium to Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Limited for N1.75 billion.
Audu noted that the government had already disbursed N1.339 billion to facilitate the project’s speedy completion. However, apart from the upgrade of dressing rooms, toilets, and repainting of the main bowl, the contractor has failed to install the track, scoreboards, playing turf, and floodlights.
Rather than adhering to the contract specifications, Monimichelle has submitted multiple requests for additional funds, claiming he incurred extra costs amounting to several hundred million naira. He is now demanding an additional N300 million to clear synthetic grass from the port before returning to the site.
Expressing frustration, Chief Whip Peter Ipusu, Deputy Whip Cephas Dyako, and Majority Leader Saater Tiseer condemned the contractor’s conduct, describing it as an attempt to hold the state to ransom despite receiving substantial payments.
Presiding over the session, Speaker Aondona Dajo ruled in favor of the summons, directing all concerned parties to appear before the Assembly.
