When on Sunday, a news item was rushed out that 17 out of 20 members of the club owners had voted to terminate the league, we were not shocked.
At a virtual meeting of Akwa Utd tagged “90 Minutes with the Chairman” we had been sufficiently briefed on the agenda the LMC had in store, supported by the docile leadership of the club owners.
At the last meeting of the club owners, it was unanimously resolved to hinge the fate of the commencement of the league on two key options namely:
1.) Take all the teams to one neutral venue and complete the league.
2.) With a whopping 13 matches, 39 points at stake, play a Super-Six to determine the league and our continental representatives.
Less than 24 hours after, the LMC went to town with a contraption called PPG ( We smelt a rat and said so) of all the 20 clubs in the league why will you use five outstanding matches of ONE club to destabilise the league structure and the sweat of all clubs who had undergone 25 matches on the road?
We queried the PPG that was surreptitiously introduced with ulterior motives and till date, we are yet to get a befitting answer except the mundane “France used it,… It is accepted worldwide etc.
Is it in FIFA, CAF, or NFF statutes? How come we have not used it before, why now?
On Sunday, Akwa United was not invited to any voting deliberately. We happened by chance on the club owners platform by 5:30pm to find out that a skewed process had been initiated since 4pm and all we saw was Wikki “A” Nasarawa “A” Enyimba “A” Adamawa “A” etc.
We sympathize with the ten clubs that are relegation threatened. Of course, they will quickly vote for the cancellation of the league. We understand the selfishness of the four that are favoured by this faulty process and are continent bound, yes “A” is okay for them. Then the two privately owned clubs who are feelings the pinch of the Covid-19 pandemic etc.
We don’t mind the league being brought to an end. What we mind is a situation where nobody does anything, no plans, no efforts, no attempts… We just drift leaderless.
When the honourable Minister noted the possibilty of holding the sports festival this year, he called for a meeting, set up a committee, the committee has submitted it’s report. If at the end of the day, the festival cannot hold, states will go back satisfied that efforts were made.
We have two of our members who have turned one of our platforms to NCDC newsletter. It is from them that you hear how one thousand people died daily and will not want football to commence so that our players will not be wiped out. They know that, should the league start, both of them are doomed to relegation hence the muscular fight to blackmail any one that has a contrary view to theirs.
We should tell them that INEC is going ahead with elections in Edo, and Ondo. We should tell them that schools will soon re-open for final year students to take their examinations. All we need is to institute the proper health protocols under a quarantine environment. NOBODY WILL DIE.
We are also worried that a club, that on current form, is not on top of their game is going to be pushed to represent us in Africa.
Lastly, we protest in very strong terms the uncouth behaviour of a cantankerous young man who calls himself the secretary of club owners. That he used foul and unprintable language to descend on a club that dared to state it’s own views leaves much to be desired. Has he been called to order?. He will not. It is a norm. He never will be.
The sooner the club owners get themselves a secretary that will be answerable to them, the better for our league.
We repeat that the PPG is strange to us, it should be condemned and eradicated. Clubs that have suffered through the season to garner points on the field of play should not be sacrificed for another that has the reputation of piling up reschduled matches.
Akwa United will forever err on the side of equity, justice and fairplay. We call for decisions that can stand the test of time no matter whose Ox is gored.
