Residents of Nnebisi in Asaba, were said to have narrowly escaped death on Monday, after the the electric scoreboard at the newly built Stephen Keshi Stadium in Delta State collapsed.
Staff of the state Sports Commission, headed by Tony Okowa, younger brother of Ifeanyi, the state governor, reportedly witnessed the collapse, SaharaReporters reports.
The report said a member of staff of the commission, who also witnessed the collapse which occurred at about 7.00pm, blamed the incident on strong winds.
“So many people would have been dead by now if an event was going on in the stadium. The collapsed scoreboard fell on top of some buildings used as restaurants, where people normally eat at night,” he disclosed.
“I witnessed the collapse of the electric scoreboard and I thank God that it did not fall towards the main road or on houses around the stadium. I weep for Delta State and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, as he has a penchant for awarding contracts running into millions of Naira to incompetent persons.
“Don’t forget that this was how a water tank collapsed during the 21st African Senior Athletics Championships, tagged ‘Asaba 2018’, which saw thousands of athletes and spectators escape death. Because Governor Okowa was in so much of a hurry to host the championship when all necessary things had not been put in place, I can confirm to you that all the materials used in the stadium were substandard. Okowa is losing it seriously. He is busy procuring media awards from media houses across board in Nigeria.
“The stadium was a multi-billion-naira contract awarded to Solomon Ogba, a former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and LOC chairman, ‘Asaba 2018’ but could not be done to a standard. All what the Governor does is to use contracts to do ‘saraka’ for his stooge and cronies. Okowa government na padi padi and food-for-the-boys government.”
It was reported that the scoreboard was uprooted from its base, collapsing into structures and also damaging some parts of the stadium.
