Edo State female footballers playing for the state owned female club known as the Edo Queens in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), today, protested the non-payment of over two years salaries and allowances.The footballers said they were stranded as they could not raise transportation fares to their respective states to celebrate Christmas.
The Edo Queens who stormed the premises of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in protest said they have been neglected by the authorities of Edo State Sports Council.
The players said their plight was compounded by the slashing of their away match bonus from N3, 000 to N2, 500.
The footballers’ spokesperson and Nigeria’s goal keeper at the 2014 under-17 tournament, Okeke Oyinye, said they would be having a bleak Christmas celebration after all efforts to get the authorities to pay part of the salary failed.
“We went to the ministry we were told that the government was already processing our payment and that we should proceed on holiday and resume on January 6.
“And we are saying they should pay us because we don’t even have transport to travel to our respective states and celebrate with our family,” she stated.
Reacting to the development, the state’s commissioner for youths and sports, Chris Okaeben, said the protest was not necessary because the government has put machineries in place to clear the arrears.
“So you mean those girls are protesting? How many are they? They should consider themselves sacked because we are already in the process of paying them.”
[myad]
