By Gracious Akujobi The sporting associations in the Federal Capital Territory have expressed displeasure over the refusal of the FCT administration to release the take off grant promised them during inauguration by the Secretary of Social Development, Blessing Onu.
Some members of the associations, who spoke to Prompt News on condition of anonymity, accused the Secretary and Director of Sports in FCT Alim Musa of not doing much to make the funds available to them.
They noted that the five hundred thousand naira if released will go a long way to take care of some of their initial challenges in running the associations, adding that they have been running the associations with their own money.
“The year is almost coming to an end and yet there is no information whatsoever coming from the authorities explaining why the take off grant is yet to get to the associations,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Director of Sports, Alim Musa, has stated that the delay in releasing the take off grant was not their making.
According to him, the Secretary of Social Development, Blessing Onu has been doing her best to ensure that money is released on time .
“The fact is that anybody insinuating that we have not been doing anything about the release of the fund is not fair to us at all. The issue is that FCT is also suffering from the same financial situation that other ministries are facing.
“The secretary has been on this issue herself because she was the one that made the declaration of the money on their inauguration. So, she is doing her best but it is just that there is no money in the system for now,” he said.
Musa stressed that they would continue to do their best to secure the release of funds, saying that should they fail to secure it they will work towards compensating them next year.
Prompt News recalls that the Sporting Associations were reluctantly set up this year by the FCT administrator after the FCT chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, (SWAN) took on the FCT administration over the delay.
