FIFA Football Licenced Agent, Eddie Iseri Ogbemudia has applauded the recent crackdown on some Nigerian clubs over the backlog of salaries of players, Sports247 reports.
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The committee released their rulings of contract disputes between some players and some clubs in the Nigeria Premier Football League as the players got in their favour, a sum of over 90 million naira in claims over unlawful termination of contacts.
In a chat with our correspondence, the soft spoken agent described the crackdown as a welcome development and Lauded the Chairman and the members of the Nigeria Football Federation Players Status and Arbitration committee for reactivating the moribund committee and for once living up to their expectations.
” This is a very welcome development. I must first of all appreciate the chairman and the committee members of the NFF Players Status and Arbitration Committee ably led by Otunba Dele Ajayi and other notable football administrators who are actually doing a yeoman’s job in that committee, for over 10 years now it has been moribund, let me use that word , they’ve actually brought life to it, began the brilliant agent.
Eddie expressed his happiness on the rulings and give an insight into how the committee are determined to ensure players get what belongs as he appeared before the committee represented players in some of players/clubs dispute.
” I had the opportunity to actually represent some players before the committee members and I see that these are people that want to stop this cancerous act of indebtedness to players and officials, they want to put an end to it. When we had this meetings some of the cases that came up, you will hear cases where club will sign players and just wake up one day and asked the players to leave, without mutually terminating such a contract. It is just unfortunate that the club will just rise up and terminate the player’s contract arbitrarily” informed Eddie.
He spoke further on the inhumane act and believed that the recent rulings in favour of the players will go a long way in changing the poor disengagement and the illegal termination of players without remorse.
” All these has been happening and they believe that it is a norm and with these decisions and demand for them to pay or be banned, they will certainly readjust. I always ask a question the way they unlawfully terminates players contract, when these players garner interest for a transfer to another club, why demand for transfer fees?”. He asked theoretically.
On whether the NFF or the league bodies will implement the rulings, Eddie says he is sure it will be implemented as it will serve as a deterrent, but he warned they will be on the look out for infractions or non compliance as a transfer ban has been placed on the defaulting clubs until they comply with the ruling of the NFF Players and Arbitration Committee.
” I am sure that the NPFL organisers will implement the ban on these clubs so that it will serve as a deterrent to other clubs that want to toll the same line, as I speak to you this current season there are clubs that have already terminated some players contract when the season has not even started.
It’s like a trend and they keep getting away with it and they believe that is a normal thing to do so we must understand that we must sanitize, and sanitizing the system means making what the rules says is upheld to the end, no matter whose ox is gored,” said Eddie.
He went on, ” But I can still tell some people in place of position maybe in the league and also in the NFF they want to play politics with this, maybe if it is a club that has somebody that is influential, they may want to allow these clubs register players so they don’t get punished adequately I believe with time each and everyone of them will be exposed because we must be prepared to do right if we claim to be the giant of Africa”.
Here are the rulings as the clubs are expected to settle their indebtedness ahead of the kick off the 2024/2025 season.
•Abia Warriors shall pay Ikedinachi Nwakanma & Julius Obinna N4 million & N3 million respectively for wrongfully terminating their contracts.
•Imoh Azubuike is entitled to get overdue payables to the tune of N3.15 milion from Abia Warriors.
•Abia Warriors shall pay Victor Alegbe N5 million for wrongfully terminating his contract & overdue payables.
•Enyimba FC shall pay Stephen Chukwude N5m for wrongfully terminating his contract.
•Jonah James, Jonas Emmanuel, H. Shamsudeen, Kanti and Abiodun Adebayo are all entitled to overdue payables from Katsina Utd. Payments to be made by instalments between June and September 2024.
•Katsina United shall pay Coach Usman Shariff Abd’Allah N7.7 million for overdue payables.
•Katsina Unitrd shall pay Coach Nasir Salisu N1.25 million for overdue payables.
•Katsina United shall pay Coach Tony Bolus N8 million for overdue payables.
•Enyimba shall pay Chijioke Akuneto N1.2 million for overdue payables.
•Lobi Stars shall pay Christian Nwokedi N1.5 million for overdue payables.
•El-Kanemi Warriors shall pay Bala Yusuf, Emmanuel Adoyi and Suleiman Sodiq N750,000, N1.65 million and N1 million respectively for overdue payables.
•Kwara United shall pay John Obuh N10.45 million for overdue payables.
•Akwa United shall pay Osahon Uhunmwangbon & others N47 million for overdue payables in revalidation of earlier decision from 2015.
