By Ubong Bassey
Nigerians are still hibernating and making the most from the lock down due to the pandemic Corona Virus that have ravaged our country, Nigeria but there is an age long virus that has eaten deep into our Nigerian Women Football.
The name of that virus is called NPOSvid-20 which have hit the camp of Veteran Women club side, Pelican Queens of Calabar.
NPOSvid-20 is an acronym of
N – Non
P – Payment
O – Of
S – Salaries
It is disheartening to know that in this time and age that the Cross River State Government (CRSG) through its Football Association and Sports Commission has been owing the salaries and bonuses of the players and backroom staff of the Nigerian Women Premier League (NWPL) club, Pelican Queens of Calabar dated as far back as June 2019.
Even the holy book says, “A workman is worthy of his wages”.
A fortnight ago, the players of the Veteran Calabar based team embarked on a peaceful protest to the Government House of Cross River State to express their grievances about untold hardship that have ensued from this age long bad habit of the government turning deaf ears to months of owed salaries and bonuses.
Today, Monday 6th April, 2020, the players of newly promoted Pelicans Queens ventured again in the morning to the Government house of Cross River State to demand for their monies.
After hours of sitting down under the scorching sun, waiting and hoping to see the Governor, His Excellency, Dr. Ben Ayade but were disappointed when the Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Offa Aya welcomed the girls by telling them that the Governor is not available and that they should go home as the matter will be addressed.
A player of the team who pleaded anonymous said that the former Commissioner of Sports in the state was never concerned about the welfare of the team and that the new commissioner (Hon. Aya) who was sworn in by November 2019 was not aware of the backlog of the owed salaries and bonuses.
The players of the team refuted the plead of Hon. Aya and insisted that they will sit outside the Government house and await for the arrival of Governor Ayade.
By exactly, 2:41PM, tired but not giving up, the players of Pelicans Queens of Calabar in solidarity left to the anguish of many.
This is the height of wickedness to humanity especially women by this show of public embarrassment of the Cross River State Government to these girls who are daughters, mothers, sisters, wives of families who are bread winners.
