By Omowumi Omotosho
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has issued a scathing critique of the current state of the Kwara State Stadium Complex.
The party in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara claimed that the deplorable condition of the stadium is due to “unchecked high-level corruption” within Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration.
The party declared that the stadium’s recent declaration as “unfit for use” by the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) management underscores the gravity of the situation.
The PDP alleged that the misuse of the stadium for political rallies by the All Progressives Congress (APC) has significantly contributed to its deterioration.
“The unfortunate use of the Main Bowl of the stadium for the All Progressives Congress (APC) rallies signifies Abdulrahman’s misplaced priorities and determination to ruin Kwara’s legacies”, the statement read.
The party further slammed allegations of corruption and fund embezzlement against the state government. The Kwara PDP argued that “despite massive evidence of corruption and fund embezzlement advanced by the Kwara Football Association against the Kwara state government, upon which the organization withdrew its services from Kwara stadium in protest, Governor Abdulrazaq has not deemed it worthy to investigate this development despite overwhelming evidence advanced by the KFA.”
The party argued further that the Kwara Football Association (KFA) had previously accused the Abdulrahman administration of misappropriating stadium funds, leading to their withdrawal of services.
“Kwarans will recall a report by Sahara Reporters in 2022, which accused Abdulrahman’s government of spending N72 million on a section of the stadium with no sign of any changes. Up till now, the government has yet to explain to the people of Kwara how this huge fund went down the drain,” the PDP stated.
The party challenged the governor to provide a full account of the funds spent on the stadium and to apologize for using it as a venue for political rallies. “We challenge Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to account for all the millions spent on the stadium and ask him to apologize to Kwarans for hosting APC political rallies on the pitch, which caused the current troubles we are witnessing today,” the statement read.
The PDP therefore called for a thorough investigation into the corruption allegations and demands accountability for those responsible for the stadium’s current state.
“The state must conduct a thorough investigation into the corruption allegations made by the KFA and ensure that those responsible for the stadium’s ruins are held accountable”, the statement concluded.
