The chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, says FIFA, not the Nigeria Football Federation, managed the $1.19m Birnin-Kebbi mini-stadium project directly.
Dikko spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday and responded to the recent allegations of fund mismanagement levelled against the NFF.
Some reports alleged that the NFF misappropriated FIFA funding intended for grassroots football and stadium development.
At the heart of the controversy is the FIFA-funded $1.19m mini-stadium built in Birnin-Kebbi.
His clarification comes amid public outrage over a photo shared by FIFA on social media showing the Kebbi Stadium under the FIFA Forward Programme. The image, taken in 2023, depicted an unfinished structure and triggered backlash from Nigerians who questioned how the $1.2 million allocated for the project was spent.
Dikko dismissed the corruption allegations raised against the NFF regarding the mini-stadium, saying “no one collected the money”.
He added that FIFA is hands-on with all its projects and “the job of NFF is to provide the land.”
“I was the first person to deliver a FIFA Goal project in Nigeria, so I understand how this thing works,” the NSC chairman said.
“FIFA manages its projects directly. The job of NFF is to provide the land and say, ‘this is what we want’. At the end of the day, it is FIFA that will appoint and pay the contractor to deliver what they had agreed on.”
Dikko blamed the unstable exchange rate for the disparity between the cost and the final project.
“For this project, it is $1.19m of today that we are talking about,” he said.
“This project was first approved in 2015. The procurement process started in 2016. What was the value of the dollar to naira then?”
The NSC chairman noted that delays in land acquisition and documentation pushed the foundation and contract signing to 2020, after which FIFA’s appointed contractor commenced work.
He explained that under FIFA’s project structure, the governing body appoints consultants, supervises contracts, and pays contractors directly, leaving the NFF with no access to the funds.
“Before the project was signed, there was a public tender and procurement process. People just see a picture and assume it’s incomplete. That structure shown was only the first phase of the project,” Dikko stated.
The mini-stadium project in Birnin-Kebbi, funded under FIFA’s Forward Programme, has faced intense scrutiny following widespread criticism of its appearance and value.
The controversy gained traction when FIFA used the stadium’s image on its social media banner, prompting public outrage and calls for an investigation.
Dikko reaffirmed that FIFA remains responsible for the project’s execution, insisting that the funds were handled transparently and according to global standards.
The House of Representatives Committee on Sports has since opened an investigation into the NFF’s management of FIFA and CAF development grants, with the Kebbi project serving as a major reference point in the probe.
