Tuesday 25 March 2014

Scandal in Ibom Angels FC: Team Manager, coordinator fingered in financial mess

The state Female football club Ibom Angels FC of Uyo may run into serious trouble if the management of the team especially the Team Manager Christopher Eshiet and the team coordinator do not retrace their steps of financial embezzlement. A very competent member of the team told our sports desk that the duo are in the habit of diverting funds that are meant for the club use into their private pockets. Our source stressed that this action had led to the fallout of the duo with other management staff a situation that is causing more harm to the state female team.

THE INK sports desk gathered that the fine run of the female team may come to a disappointing end if the club leadership does not stop fingering monies that are meant for the club. It was gathered that during the first home match of Ibom Angels FC were Bayalsa Queens were the visitors, the team manager Christopher Eshiet was given twenty seven thousand naira for the welfare of the match commissioner, the Ibom Angels Commissioner stole seven thousand naira and only gave to the match commissioner twenty thousand naira. This action is said to have provoked other management staff of the club who on realizing that the match commissioner was shortchanged, began to raise alarm. The rumpus is said to have attracted the attention of the club Chairman Mr. Emmanuel Iba who had to send calls across to the match commissioner. The match commissioner is said to have confirmed that he was given twenty thousand naira only by the Ibom Angels Team Manager.


When the team also went for a her second away match at Benin to play the Inneh Queens which they won by two goals to one, the Team Manager and the Team Coordinator were also given two hundred thousand naira for the welfare of the match officials, the duo again pocketed one hundred thousand naira and gave out a hundred thousand to the match officials. There was also another round of trouble which made staff of the team to form factions and cartels with the aim of causing trouble in the club. The matter was again reported to the club Chairman by some officials of Ibom Angels Football club. In the light of this, a meeting of management staff of Ibom Angels was summoned by the club Chairman Emmanuel Iba. The meeting is said to have discussed many things especially the recklessness with finances by the Team Manager and his counterpart the Team Coordinator. The club chairman is said to have also called the match officials of the Benin match who confirmed that they got one hundred thousand naira only.

The club chairman is said to have told the Team Coordinator and the Team manager that they should go and desist from shortchanging others as that was not a good development and is capable of bringing crises to the team. But the duo will not listen as they also fingered some sum of money that was meant for some club officers after one of the away victory matches which the club won. On returning from the match, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Monday Uko is said to have expressed excitement with the team and had donated to them a sum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira. The said sum was meant to be shared by hierarchy. Some people were earmarked for ten thousand naira while some were earmarked for five thousand and so on. An aggrieved officer of the club whose sum was fingered informed our reporter that the Team Coordinator and the Team Manager instead of sharing the money as agreed rather went ahead to shortchanged some people and took the overflow into their private pockets. This action is said to have sparked another row of problems in the team especially amongst management staff with some threatening to boycott the club activities. When the rumpus as a result of this was too much, the club chairman was once again invited to step in. Emmanuel Iba is said to have promised to take the matter to the Sports commissioner whom he said will deal decisively with anyone that is found guilty of defrauding the club no matter how highly placed such person would be.  

But the sports loving community who had been following the crises in the club are wondering why corrupt officials from the club are not sacked especially bearing in mind the club chairman and sports commissioner’s posturing that anybody found in corrupt practices that will be detriment to the club and its successes will be sacked. 

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