The Rivers State Sports Ministry has come under our sports desk watch for sometimes now.
Our sports editor gathered, on investigation, that there is high level of preferential treatment in the sports ministry, where some sports personalities are treated with levity.
For instance, Reverend (Dr) Sokari Soberekon, the first Rivers State professional who represented Rivers State and Nigeria, bringing back glory to both state and country, was ignored as a sports man who had put smile on the faces of Rivers people and the entire Nigerians during his active sporting days.
The same Reverend (Dr) Sokari Soberekon, was the champion of boxing, weightlifting, judo, and Karate. Apart from taking part in these five combative sports, he became a National champion, starting his trade from Rivers State.
It is sad to note that this honourable son of the soil, who had done Rivers State and Nigeria proud, is not considered for any state honour not to talk of contracting him to be a consultant of the sports in which he had so far distinguished himself, bringing laurel for the state and the country.
It is too shocking to note here that Reverend Sokari was asked to pay fifty thousand naira (N50,000) before he could be granted state honour or acknowledgement in the who is who in Rivers State project the state is running to acknowledge past heroes of Rivers State.
Reverend (Dr) Sokari is 70 years old and is strong and willing to support the Rivers State sports ministry in whatever capacity, yet he could not be called or recognized despite his exploits for Rivers State in sports. Soberekon is just one of such abandoned great legends of Rivers State in Sports, because they are not politicians.
As if that is not enough, Sharks Football Club won the WAFU Cup and was rewarded with car gifts.
All recognized players and officials were given gifts and cash in appreciation of their good job.
The Secretary of the club received his car gift, only to be sidelined by the then media officer of the team, when even his name was among the officials that ought to benefit from the car gift largesse. We gathered his name was deleted at the eleventh hour of the presentation of the largesse.
Injustice triumph gallantly in the sports ministry as no man’s business. Dolphins and Rivers Angels too were promised car gift for their success in the Nigeria Premier League.
At the time of presentation of the largesse, the media officer of Dolphins was given a car as his gift alongside the players and technical crew, which preferential treatment knocked the then media officer off of the largesse.
In the same vein, Rivers Angels Team Secretary was not given a car while Sharks team secretary was not given his car. This is the same government that sponsored the team, the same government that provided the car gifts largesse under the Rivers State Sports Ministry.
Hotel Olympia was built for Rivers State Sports men and women, which the sports ministry supervised, now is taken away from the sports men and women and the Rivers State Sports Ministry could not even defend the facility for Rivers Sports men and women; this also is gross injustice done to sports men and women.
Sharks and Dolphins players lived under illusion while playing for the state teams. Sign-on-fees, Match allowances, bonuses and salaries were not paid as of when due, this went on to affect the two teams sponsored by the Rivers State Government during the last football season , in the Nigeria premier league.
A Senegalese player, Abdou Sagna, who was signed to play for Sharks last football season was owed his sign-on-fee after a full season.
Too sad to note the injustice meted out to the player and his colleagues; all the players that played for that season were not paid their sign-on-fees. This is ridiculous and embarrassing to Nigeria players.
Sunday Mba of Enugu Rangers was the player that made the Super Eagles the proud champion of the 29th edition of the African Nations Cup in South Africa as his 40th minute strike gave Nigeria her third trophy in 19 years.
Abdou Sagna has been, dropped this season, and the player want his sign-on-fees paid to him so that he will leave for his country to play his football. Sad to note that the Ministry is drag foot-dragging to settle the player – saying “we do not pay sign-on-fee in isolation”.
All over the world, a player kicks the ball when his sign-on-fee is paid to him, here in Rivers State Sports Ministry they think otherwise.
Our investigation also revealed that the Director of Sports development in the Ministry is used like a rubber stamp, though the bulk of sports development lies on his table, a complete scenario of work like Elephant eat like ant.
Gross injustice triumphs gallantly in the Rivers State Sports Ministry as man know man is the order of the day in discharging sports business in Rivers State Sports Ministry. ###
Allanso Jonathan Allanso
