A purported news circulating in the media after the vandalisation of the Moshood Kashimawo Abiola National Stadium was that the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare had claimed that the renovation of the stadium will cost the government a total of N560 billion.
The Informant247 recalls that football fans invaded the pitch in the aftermath of the failure of the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the Qatar World Cup after playing out a 1-1 draw against the Black Stars of Ghana.
The Nigerian team, having played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the game in Ghana lost out of the race on aggregate.
It would be recalled that major renovation of the MKO National Stadium had earlier been effected by Dangote Groups under the auspices of the Business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
While some Facebook news feed accounts had reportedly quoted the Sports Minister that the renovation of the stadium will cost N560billion, the Informant247 fact check team’s finding had shown clearly that such claim was never made by the Minister.
Meanwhile, the Informant247 fact check team understands that the Minister has inaugurated a panel of enquiry to unravel the cause of the incident.
In a statement by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports development on March 31, 2022, the Minister inaugurated the Nine-man Committee to investigate the remote causes and the level of vandalism at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, after the 2022 World Cup second leg playoff between Nigeria and Ghana that ended in 1-1 draw.
According to the statement, the committee were given Two weeks to do their findings and submit the reports.
“The Committee which has two weeks’ to complete its assignment and make presentation, has the following as its Terms of Reference; Finding the immediate and remote causes of the incident, Determining the extent of destruction, Investigating the role of the security agencies, Identifying the culprits and Making recommendations on how to prevent future occurrence” the Statement noted.
Members of the committee include Retired DIG Sanni Mohammed as the Chairman and Olumide Bamiduro as the Secretary.
Others are Dr. Henry Nzekwu, Rtd. Navy Commodore Omatsey Nesiama, Alhaji Abba Yola, Dr. Simon Ebhojiaye, Mrs. Tayo Oreweme, Mr. Mitchell Obi, and a Representative of DSS.
Verdict
The Minister of Youth and Sports development never said the renovation of the MKO National Stadium will cost N560 billion.
This report was produced by The Informant247 Fact Check team.