Tag: Bayelsa Utd

•Denies selling their players

Former Bayelsa United coordinator Shuaibu Muhammed has refuted claims by his former employer that he is selling their players without their knowledge.

Muhammed, who joined Bayelsa United two seasons ago, resigned at the end of 2014/2015 season.

He said he left the club when he could no longer cope with the way the chairman of the club, Tony Ogola was handling the team.

Bayelsa United media officer Edi Ohis alleged that Muhammed after leaving the club had resulted in poaching their players to another club without their permission.

But Muhammed in a telephone chat with SportingLife said he had no hands in the Bayelsa United transfer deals, insisting that he only deals with the players that belong to him.

“I was Bayelsa United coordinator for two seasons before I resigned at the end of the 2014/2015 season for obvious reasons. I joined the club when my boss, Ladan Bosso signed for the club. And as the coordinator of the club and I was in charge of the players registration at the League Management Company (LMC) office in Abuja, and I want to state here categorically that 95% of the players at the Bayelsa United does not belong to them, they don’t have economic right on the players,” Mohammed told SportingLife.

“Bayelsa United don’t clear players and any club that does not clear players from their rightful owner does not have right over such players. They (Bayelsa United) only pleaded with the managers to allow their players to play for them on a season loan deal which was agreed upon by both sides.

“I believe the managers involved were all aware of this agreement they had with Bayelsa United, Bernard Oboke belongs to Bernard of FC Dynamite Force of Benin. I own players like Eric Frimpong, Lekan Agunloye, Musa Najare, Sani Muhammed and Samuel Tsanya while Binebi Johnson belongs to Onyema a football manager in Lagos. Kadiri Samad and Oladimaji Hassan belong to Yomi of fame football club in Lagos.

“I want the clubs that are interested in these players to liaise with their managers directly because they don’t belong to Bayelsa United.”

Muhammed also disclosed that he will take Bayelsa United to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) players’ arbitration committee to demand for the money owing the players he sold to the club.

“Bayelsa United did not comply with the agreement they had with the players. They still owed players some certain amount of money and I am taking them to the NFF players’ arbitration Committee to seek justice. Bayelsa United are the highest debtor of players, coaches and managers in the league which should not be registered in the Nigeria National League (NNL) next season,” he said.

Struggling Glo Premier League side, Bayelsa United, have parted ways with gaffer, Evans Ogenyi, supersport.com has learnt.

Supersport.com reliably gathered that the decision to part ways was due to Sunday’s recent home defeat to fellow strugglers, Sharks.

In recent times, the club had shared points at home with Akwa United, Kano Pillars and Enyimba, under Ogenyi, but earned a surprise point at bottom-of-the-table FC Taraba.

“I’ve left Bayelsa United,” Ogenyi said to supersport.com, on Tuesday.

Sunday’s result left the club in 19th position with 22 points from 25 matches.

Ogenyi became the club’s third coach this season after Solomon Ogbeide and George Ederekuomoh, who served in an interim capacity.

Bayelsa United’s hierarchy is yet to make an official announcement on Ogenyi’s exit and his replacement ahead of their match day 26 trip to FC Ifeanyiubah.

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Bayelsa United have sacked their head coach, Solomon Ogbeide, supersport.com can report.

Ogbeide was thrown out on Sunday night after an emergency meeting by the club’s management.

The experienced trainer was axed along with his assistant, and they have both been replaced temporarily with George Ederekumoh and Samke Nyanabofa.

A source at the club revealed to supersport.com that poor performances this term was the only rationale for the club’s management for this decision.

The source added that the club’s management and fans were also livid at the 2-2 draw Bayelsa United played with visiting Dolphins in Sunday’s Glo Premier League match day 8 tie.

“I can confirm to you that we have sacked Solomon Ogbeide, and he has been replaced immediately due to poor performance,” the source said to supersport.com

The erstwhile Warri Wolves gaffer now becomes the first coach that will be sacked this term in Nigeria’s top flight.

Bayelsa United have garnered seven points from eight games this season in the NPFL, and occupy the 19th position on the log.

Bayelsa United Team Manager, Tarilaye Nwakwe  has said the club heaved a sigh of relief following Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Nembe City in the Week 26 Glo Premier League clash on Wednesday.

Nwakwe told SportingLife that the Restoration Boys will use the derby win as a springboard to advance further away from the relegation zone. He said the boys will approach this weekend’s game against Enyimba FC at the Aba Township stadium with seriousness.

“The win was a great relief for all of us because there was so much noise about the match. It was a derby game and we thank God that we overpowered Nembe City.

We all knew what was at stake before the match and we were delighted with the outcome of the match. We approached the game very well and we got the  results,” Nwakwe told SportingLife.

“There is no doubt that we still need to work hard to survive relegation. Concerning Sunday’s game, the boys are just fired up and are looking forward to pick a positive result in Aba against Enyimba. The boys are in the right frame of mind and I believe the derby win will serve as a morale boost against Enyimba,” Speaking in the same vein,  the club’s media officer, Geoge Ameli said: “Like I told you the players have no problem with salaries and bonuses. However, the sign-on fees percentage is what the management is finalising now. Our focus now is the match against Enyimba and we are going there to pick something from the game.”

 • Says, I couldn’t see anything after injury • Bayelsa Utd thanks El-Kanemi

SportingLife can exclusively report that Bayelsa United goalkeeper Kazeem Yekini will undergo a computerised tomography scan on his head in Yenagoa today to know the full extent of his injury, with a short spell on the sidelines expected.

The team’s Physio, Dr. Dapo Adegoke disclosed this to SportingLife on Monday.

Yekeen collapsed when he had a one-on-one head-on collision with a player during his side’s 2-0 defeat to El Kanemi Warriors in a Week 25 Glo Premier League game at the Kano Pillars stadium, Sabongari, Kano on Sunday.

The former Kwara United safe hands was treated at a hospital in Kano where he was rushed to after the incident.

SportingLife understands that the Bayelsa United management was told that it will take some time before they could get the results of the scan conducted on Yekeen.  This forced the management to decide to go to Yenagoa for a new scan since they could not wait to collect the test conducted in Kano.

“We tried everywhere in Kano on Sunday to do the scan but all our effort proved abortive due to doctors’ strike. Again, we were told that it will take about three to four days before the result will come out. So we’ve decided to do it in Yenagoa. So we will know the situation after the scan tomorrow (today),” Adegoke told SportingLife.

In an exclusively chat with SportingLife, Yekeen said he did not sustain any severe injury after the incident, insisting that he is doing fine after the treatment.

“I am okay now. It was a one-on-one collision. But I thank God I didn’t sustain any injury,” Yekeen told SportingLife.

“I am going for other tests in Yenagoa because we can’t wait for the results of the test I did in Kano. The doctor said I can’t get the result immediately and we have to travel this morning (Monday) so our management decided I should go to Yenagoa for a new medical test.”

Yekeen also said he wanted to continue with the match but he couldn’t see clearly after the incident.

“When the incident happened my intension was to continue the match but I discovered that I couldn’t see anything when I stood up to kick the ball and I fell down and I was rushed to the hospital where I did the scan.”

Meanwhile, the management of Bayelsa United under the chairmanship of Akpofini Odogu has expressed appreciation to the management of El Kanemi Warriors for the support given to the team during the incident.

According to the club’s media officer, George Ameli, Odogu especially thanked El Kanemi chairman Zanna Mohammed who left the stadium and escorted Kazeem to the hospital.

“We thank El Kanemi family for the support shown to us during the trying period. El Kanemi chairman followed us to the hospital and he was there until the doctor confirmed that our player is stable to return to the hotel. We hope and pray for better relationship in our league. We thank all the fans of El Kanmei too,” Odogu was quoted as saying.

Bayelsa United players have said they won’t step into the pitch again this season if the Odogu Akpofini-led management of the side does not see to the payment of their debt arrears from last season till date.

They told SportingLife that they were yet to be paid signing-on fees for last season and that the enhanced salary structure that was to take effect this season has not been effected either.

They also claimed to have been playing football almost without food and blamed Bayelsa United’s chairman, Akpofini, for their woes.

The players likened their present pedicament to what obtained under former Ocean Boys General Manager, Tony Ogola.

The aggrieved footballers, in a passionate message sent to SportingLife, said:  Bayelsa United have not paid their players since last season, and up till now nobody has said anything about it.

“Bayelsa United’s chairman does not appear to be doing anything to solve the financial problem in the club,” they argued. “It is high time the governor gave the club to a capable person to manage it affairs.”

Bayelsa United players also blamed the League Management Company( LMC) for making and breaking their own law regarding the welfare package of players in the league.

“We are also going to blame LMC for this problem  because the body makes laws without due recourse to see if they are being followed or not. We are yet to be paid for close to two seasons now and nobody is saying anything about it.

“The LMC saying is that the league is good. We wonder what is good in the league if the players of a club have not been paid that they worked for going to two seasons now?”

“Players in the league are only struggling to survive while some in the management are the ones making use of most the approved money for the players,” they alleged. In his reaction, Bayelsa United Media Officer, George Ameli, agreed that the Restoration Boys were yet to be paid last season’s signing-on fees but that they had been paid up to date the monies they were owed this season.

He stressed that the thorny issue was the signing-on fees and that it was the reason the LMC abolished it at the beginning of the season for enhanced salaries which he said they had never defaulted on since the start of the season.

Ameli declared that a stakeholders’ meeting will be held today and that this will address the reason behind the nonpayment of last season’s signing-on fees, among other topical issues.

Bayelsa United have 20 points thus far from 15 matches in the current campaign and have started faltering in the last few games despite a promising start which saw them play in the CAF Confederation Cup and go on an unbeaten streak in earlier in the season.