No fewer than 13 players from the title winning 2017 Aiteo team are ready to head to the court room if the management of Akwa united football club fails to honour the monetary pledge the state government made to the team shortly after winning the Aiteo FA cup three years ago.
According to the aggrieved players, they have no alternative than to seek redress through legal means to get their entitlement.
Three years after sacrificing tears and blood for the club, the management have been tossing the players up and down regarding what is due to them.
Some of the players spoke anonymously for fear of being victimized, revealed how the Akwa united management lied to the players on several occasions.
” For winning the first ever AITEO CUP in 2017, the governor announced the sun of 70millon naira as our reward for winning the cup. Precisely on the 18th of September 2018, Governor Udom Emmanuel promised the whole team 70 Million Naira in appreciation for the Aiteo cup we won in 2017″. One of the player stated.
“He also promised that we will get the money in not more than a week from the day of the pronouncement but till today they have done nothing”. Another player stated.
“In 2019, with just two matches before the super six, we had a lunch with the commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sir Monday Ubong Ukoh who did mentioned that the money was available and gave assurance that we will get it before the super six but till date, we are yet to get anything and when we asked our club chairman, elder Paul Bassey, he said he couldn’t override the commissioner”.
According to the players, several appeal to Elder Paul Bassey to help them get the money as the Chairman of the club didn’t yield any results.
“Subsequently we also had the privilege to meet with the commissioner for Sports in Akwa Ibom state on three different occasions, he reiterate that we shall get our money soon but up till today they have no fulfill the promise”.
Consequently the players are weighing all available options within their constitutional rights to get their entitlement including seeking legal redress if that’s only option left.
