Daily Independent (Lagos)
Peter Edema
29 March 2011
Nigeria Premier League (NPL) Club Owners will decide on Wednesday whether to accept or reject the N350 million that former Premier League title sponsors, Globacom wants to pay the league board out of the N923 million it owes.
The League congress is billed to hold in Abuja with a definite decision on whether to accept or reject the money.
The Sports Minister and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Prof Taoheed Adedoja, we learnt informed the club owners at a meeting that the Globacom is only willing to part with N350m and not N923 million.
When the representatives of the NPL club owners at the said meeting informed his colleagues of the outcome of his meeting with the minister, a number of them demanded that the N350 million be accepted while others were against it.
An emergency meeting of the representatives of the 20 club owners met in Abuja last night ahead of the congress billed, just as the Premier League board convened another meeting over the same issue on Tuesday. NPL Vice chairman, Shehu Gussau confirmed the meeting on Tuesday but refused to disclose details.
The clubs are demanding that the N923 million bepaid. They are angry that the NPL was hoodwinked into accepting a N100 million loan from a bank, even as the NPL has incurred an interest of more than N120 million.
Even if the NPL is paid the title sponsorship of N923 million, it will have to pay over N200 million for the loan as well as pay up several debts running into millions of naira.
Sources close to Naijaligue.blogspot.com learnt that the club owners are divided over to accept or reject the said money.
According to an official of a northern club, the outcome of NPL assembly could sway in favour of accepting the N350 million, adding that the nocturnal meetings expected to hold among the top shots of the club owners from Tuesday to Wednesday morning could sway the decision leading to the acceptance of the N350 million.
AllAfrica – All the Time
See more here:
Nigeria: Club Owners Meet Over N350 Million GLO’s Sponsorship Fee