Otunba Gbenga Daniel
Otunba Gbenga Daniel
By Otunba Engr. Gbenga Daniel
Ogun State under my watch won the rights to host the National Sports Festival christened Gateway Games which was successfully held from 6th April to 16th April 2006.
The Ogun State contingent came 3rd overall and won the largest number of medals including the Gold medal in soccer. The best performance ever recorded by our State in the history of the games. Sports professionals nationwide agreed that Gateway Games 2006 was probably one of the best organised in history.
In the course of our preparation, we built from scratch: the Gateway International Stadium and Games Village in Ijebu Ode and also upgraded the MKO Abiola Stadium Abeokuta to FIFA certification, such that two years later, we played host to the world in Ogun State when the facilities in Ijebu Ode were selected by FIFA as one of the venues for the Junior World Cup. Spain and USA were actually one of the countries that played in our State. This is just by way of subtle reminder because human memories can be short.
Funding of the Games was a challenge as my administration decided ab initio that we cannot afford to use scarce and unavailable State resources to fund the games which was a very expensive venture. We therefore created The Gateway Games Commission under the executive control of Dr Yomi Majekodunmi who was later to become my Chief of Staff because of what I considered to be his impressive performance during the Games. Together with Gateway Holdings Ltd, an investment company wholly owned by Ogun State Government under the executive control of its pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive - Mr Gboyega Isiaka, they were charged to create ingenious ways and look for funds from various sources to fund the Games.
Part of this initiative amongst others, was the usage of Customs waivers to import vehicles for the use of the Games and also Steel for the Construction of the Games Village. We duly applied to the Federal Government and was granted the waiver indirectly though, through two companies (though not nominated by us but for which we were assured were the companies that the Federal Government had used in the past in a similar Games Festival held in Abuja, and were reputable).
The vehicles were duly provided by Globe Motors to our satisfaction. However the steel importation, I was aware provided lots of challenges as the Steel did not arrive in time for the construction of the Games Village. The waiver was approved to the best of my recollection due to the usual bureaucracy, in December 2005 barely 3 months to the commencement of the Games in April 2006. As we had no money to fund the Games as I earlier indicated, the whole logistics of importation and funding was arranged by the duo of Gateway Games Commission and Gateway Holdings Limited and some companies, while a bank funded the importation. I was informed while in Government that when the steel finally arrived, there were issues of demurrage, seizures etc which was making nonsense of the financial projections and timing for the Games as the Steel finally arrived after the end of the Games. The Games Village under construction was not ready and we had to make alternative arrangements to house the over 10,000 participants in the Games, the largest contingent in the Games' history.
Our concern thereafter was how to ensure that the nightmare was managed in such a way that the State was not left with any debt as a result of this development.
I feel proud that on the final date of the games, an audited report of the Games finances was publicly rendered during the closing ceremonies in the presence of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, and the Gateway Games Commission announced a modest profit of about N10m if my memory serves me right. This was on 16th April 2006. With that closure we all felt excited that the best organised National Sports Festival was not only concluded without incidences but that such a game was successfully done without directly impinging on the State's lean purse but more importantly, that Sports can be a profitable venture if well organised. This, we believe, has become a landmark in Sports administration,
and we feel elated that since Gateway Games 2006, all other hosting States have been making it a reference point in planning and execution.
However, since the Games ended and despite the audited report publicly rendered, the Games have been the subject of continuous probes and investigations as is all our other efforts in the State's administration, such that over 7 years later, I was invited to provide some clarifications yesterday by the EFCC. I honoured and provided answers to the best of my recollection as all the details of all that transpired are in the custody of the current State government. I was not aware of any scam whatsoever either on these transaction or any other transaction whatsoever during the 8 year tenure of my administration. This short summary are my initial comments to whatever insinuations that the public might have been fed about my visit to the EFCC's office yesterday.
Otunba Engr. Gbenga Daniel, FNSE., FNAEng., was the Governor of Ogun State from 2003-2011.