A severe windstorm has damaged the pavilion of the Lafiagi Mini Stadium in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, prompting calls for a thorough assessment of the project.
The Lafiagi Emirate Youths Transparency Association (LEYTA) made the demand after visiting the project site to assess the extent of the damage and speak with members of the construction team.
During the visit, the project’s structural engineer reportedly dismissed concerns that substandard materials caused the collapse. He said the materials used could be made available for independent laboratory testing to verify their quality and compliance with required standards.
The engineer explained that Lafiagi experiences relatively high wind speeds and that the original geotechnical report did not include a wind-speed analysis. He added that windbreakers and other wind-resistant measures were not initially included in the architectural design.
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According to him, the project team later introduced windbreakers, but their installation had not been completed before the windstorm because the concrete base columns were still curing.
He described the incident as a natural disaster rather than a structural failure caused by poor-quality materials.
LEYTA commended the Kwara State Government for establishing the mini stadium in Edu LGA but urged the government, consultants and contractors to ensure strict compliance with professional standards during the reconstruction.
The youth group also called for Lafiagi’s environmental and wind conditions to be properly considered in the redesign, while urging the government to support the contractor in completing the project safely and on schedule.
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