Stoic
Recall that about six months ago, a budget for the renovation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe statue and its surroundings was presented to the 7th Assembly of the Zik Hall Legislative Council by the Executive Council, led by the Hall Chairman, Sotomi Daniel. The budget, which was later approved by the Legislative Council, detailed the items required for the renovation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Statue area and their respective costs.
Items in the budget included three buckets (red, black, and gold) of glossy paint priced at ₦60,000 (Sixty thousand naira) and a workmanship fee of ₦10,000 (Ten thousand naira). Also listed were “Background wood” (12ft), nails, and threads — budgeted at ₦24,000, ₦7,000, and ₦12,000 respectively. These three materials were to be used for the string art design attached to the background of the Zik statue, for which an additional ₦25,000 was approved as workmanship payment.
Other items on the budget included “Printing and hanging of Zik and UI’s flags” and “Gravel/Granite,” with ₦15,000 approved for the flags and ₦50,000 for the gravel/granite.
Zik Press confirmed from Daniel Sotomi that all eight items and their costs on the budget were approved, and the total sum of ₦203,000 was disbursed for the project. However, the last two items — the flags (Zik and UI’s) and the gravel/granite — are still missing from the renovation site at B Block basement. Six months after approval, the flags are yet to be mounted.
It will be recalled that in Zik Press’ earlier publication of June 20, 2025, Sotomi revealed that the flags were ready but attributed the delay to the contractor handling the string art design. “We don’t want to mount the flag when everything else is not complete,” he had stated. However, despite the completion of the string art, the flags have still not been mounted.
In addition, contrary to the approved use of gravel/granite, the base area of the statue has instead been floored. When asked about this alteration, Sotomi explained, “We were supposed to get gravel for the floor, but we thought about it — if we put gravel there, in the next few years, it will result in the same problem we used to have.” He added that they were able to gather some money among themselves (the executives) and a few others, which was used to buy 10 bags of cement for the flooring.
“The money we got was not even enough for the renovation,” he said, suggesting that the ₦203,000 approved for statue repainting, gravel for the base area, installation of string art, and mounting of two flags was insufficient. He also noted that the background painting of the statue remains incomplete due to the painter’s delay.
“The painter is the one delaying the completion of the painting of the background of the statue because he is sorting his project. Maybe by next week, he should come to complete it,” he said.
