Green: Yakubu Gowon Stadium to Become New Hub of International Sports When Completed

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Former Board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barrister Christopher Green, has tipped the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt undergoing massive reconstruction to become the new hub of hosting international football matches and global track and field championships when completed.

The 16,000-capacity stadium is being remodeled into a world-class arena by the Rivers State Government with the contract awarded to Monimichelle Sports Construction Company Limited.

Speaking during his visit to the facility recently, Green who is Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice as well as the Commissioner overseeing Sports, believes that when completed, the Yakubu Gowon Stadium will pass both CAF and FIFA certifications for the international games.

“I can assure you that CAF, FIFA would approve this  stadium for  matches.

“We also want to assure you that the tracks that will be laid will get certification from the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) once it is  done in accordance with the CAA  standard,.  I’m very sure that everything will come out very best,” stressed Green, a  former Chairman of NFF’s Technical Committee.

MD/CEO of Monimichelle Limited, Ebi Egbe, while also speaking on the level of work done so far, insisted that there were visible signs of advancement across the facility.

The pitch foundation, he said, has been fully completed with 4,000 perforated drainage pipes installed beneath the playing surface. The sprinkler system is ready for deployment, while the base for the polyurethane athletics track has already been asphalted.

Work on the VIP and VVIP sections is nearing completion, with tiling and finishing ongoing. Roof trusses have been erected, cladding works are approximately 90 per cent completed, the scoreboard structure has been fabricated, floodlight installations are being prepared and the public address system has already been delivered to the stadium.

“The job is more than 90 per cent completed. We have been here every day,” Egbe noted, stressed that  his firm delayed the installation of both  the football pitch and tartan tracks for obvious reasons.

According to him, the Nigerian Army is scheduled to host its annual Army Day celebration at the stadium around July 7, an event expected to involve heavy vehicles and extensive movement within the facility.

Installing the pitch before the event, he argued, would expose the surface to avoidable damage.

“We don’t want to install the pitch because there’s going to be a very serious activity here by the Nigerian Army. There will be a lot of vehicles going around the track, and we want to protect the main bowl facilities.”

Egbe said further  that polyurethane track surfaces are best installed during dry weather conditions and that attempting installation during the peak of the rainy season could compromise quality and durability.

Officials from the Rivers State Ministry of Works were also present during the inspection.

 “The Yakubu Gowon Stadium is going be better than what it  was,” an official said. “We are expecting it to be a notch  better than what we have at the Enyimba Stadium in Aba for instance.

“That was done before 2018 or 2020. So, expect things to be much better, higher and of greater quality because this is  2026.”

With Rivers United expected to participate in continental competitions and CAF inspectors scheduled to visit before September, the contractor acknowledged that timelines remain critical.

“Rivers United need to play continental games here. The pitch must be ready before September,” he assured Rivers sports stakeholders.

The  assessment of the on-going renovation work gave Egbe the chance to debunk spurious  allegations  that his outfit has a penchant  for abandoning  projects midstream

“ I challenge anybody that says we don’t finish our jobs and I’m saying this live on TV to anybody accusing Monimichelle of abandoning project to ask those complaining  to ask if they’d met their own obligation in terms of funds to our company.”

He repeatedly characterized delayed payments as one of the greatest challenges facing contractors working on public projects, adding  bureaucracy and uncertainty often characterized  project execution.

Despite his concerns over alleged pressure from external interests, Egbe’s enthusiasm for the project remained evident  in front of the camera as he spoke passionately about the significance of delivering a FIFA-standard facility in Rivers State and the opportunities such infrastructure could create for football, athletics and sports tourism.

“I’m very happy to be part of history in Rivers State because this is going to be history,” he said.