The players of the Confluence Beach Soccer club have cried out to governor Yahaya Bello over short pay received as reward for emerging first runner-up at the feat in 2016 Keta Beach Soccer Cup in Ghana.
Until Monday, the Kogi side were yet to received their allowances for the past three months since their success in Ghana’s beach soccer event in March.
In March, elated governor Bello had pledged to host the team and turn them to a world class beach soccer outfit – a promise he is yet to fulfill three months after.
A player who spoke after receiving their allowances in Monday, claimed they were shortchanged by the sports commissioner Arome Adoji and lamented his role in the failed promise from the governor.
“We have gotten our allowances, but it is said what we received was just far from our expectation. We believe we’ve been shortchanged by the commissioner of sports.
“We had been in starvation for the past seven good months and we learnt the governor (Yahaya Bello) has graciously approved our allowances and wanted to host us for a reward.
“The commissioner (Arome Adoji) failed to secure funds for us to make the trip to Ghana to represent the country, but thanks to our coach (Adamu Audu Ejor) who raised funds to help us made the journey and brought glory to the state.
Another lamented that, “Our families are not happy with us because we are unable for provide their needs, yet the commissioner expects us to be wishing him well while failing to make good case for us.
“He severally threatened he was not going to pay us and we understand he has embezzled the approved money, but after much intervention from top government he only ended up short paying us.
“We played out our heart to win the national cup in 2013, which was the first trophy won by the state since it creation and now that we have going to represent the country and done well – we are almost begging to get the allowances we deserved.
“We consider the medium as best avenue to appeal to the state governor to come to our aid and adequately fulfill his promise by rewarding the team and calling the [sports] commissioner to order”.
Meanwhile, the state commissioner of sports, Adoji who spoke through his personal assistant has denied the allegations of the team, describing it as misleading and great show of ungratefulness.
It recalled that the team won the 2013 CBN National Beach Soccer Cup, the state’s first national soccer trophy in her history.
