Exposed! Rots In A’Ibom Sports Ministry… Contingents To National Youths Festival Lament Unpaid Allowance
By UbongAbasi Ise
As Akwa Ibom State is basking
in the euphoria of finishing second on the medal table at the recent Under 17
National Sports Festival held in Ilorin, the coaches and staff that
participated in the fiesta are no longer in the celebrating spirits as they are
allegedly owed ten days Duty Tour Allowance (DTA).
The
Sensor gathered that the coaches and staff from the Akwa Ibom State Ministry
of Youths and Sports that formed part of the state’s contingent to Kwara State
in September, were only paid in Ilorin the DTA of two days out of 12 days the
competition lasted.
One of the coaches who spoke with
our correspondent in strict confidence said that they were assured by the state
Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Monday Uko, that once they reach Akwa
Ibom State, all their entitlements would be released to them. But from
September till date, they are yet to be paid.
In a phone conversation with
our correspondent, the chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of Amalgamated
Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services
Employees, Mrs. Elizabeth Ayara-ekpe, confirmed that the coaches and sports
staff are still owed 10 day DTA following Ilorin games.
A staff of the Ministry of
Youths and Sports who begged anonymity, told The Sensor that the governor had released the fund for the games,
even before the contingents travelled to Kwara State, but the Commissioner for
Youths and Sports, Mr. Monday Uko; the Permanent Secretary for the Youths and
Sports, Mr. Aniedi Dickson; the Director of Sports in the Ministry, Mr.
Lawrence Iquaibom; and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Mr.
Paul Bassey, all siphoned the money to their private pockets.
The source added that the
commissioner was claiming that the governor did not release any fund for the
sports event, and that all the expenditure made at Ilorin was from his pocket.
An athlete, who also confided
in our correspondent, disclosed how they were paid N2,500 allowance for one
week camping exercise which commenced on 27th of August 2017.
The source added that the
athletes were paid paltry allowance of N17,500 for the 12- day duration of the
nationwide sports festival which began on 7th September and ended on
19th September, 2017 in Ilorin.
He said that “athletes should
have been paid N5,000 per day, but the allowance was whittled down to meager N1,350
per day if calculated.”
The affected coaches and staff
of the sports ministry who spoke to The
Sensor have called on the State
Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, to order the immediate release of their
entitlements as he is not a debt-owing governor.
They also appealed to the
Governor to shake-up the Ministry of Youths and Sports and bring in fresh hands,
especially, in the area of coaching as there is no employment of trained coach
in that ministry for many years now.
They also called on the state
government to extend priority to other sports the same way as football as too
much attention on football is stunting the growth of other sports in the state.
When our
correspondent contacted the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Monday Uko,
for the confirmation on the report of the unpaid allowance, he queried if any
of our correspondents had ever called him for his reactions when Akwa United
won Aiteo Cup. He also said that he does not dwell on negative reports, and so he could
not react in respect to the unpaid duty tour allowance.
Meanwhile, Delta State was the
overall winner with 24 gold medals at the Under 17 National Sports Festival in
Ilorin followed by Akwa Ibom State with 19 gold medals while the host, Kwara
State, came third with 15 gold medals.
Source: The Sensor Newspaper
Comments
Post a Comment