President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo has urged all parties in the on-going dispute for the sponsorship of the Nigeria Premier League to embrace the peace process initiated by the Honourable Sports Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Professor Taoheed Adedoja. Ladipo spoke in Lagos on Tuesday shortly before departing for Abuja for consultations with football stakeholders.

Ladipo, who also commended Globacom for withdrawing the case against the league bid from court, expressed support for the cancellation of the Premier League title rights bid which he said was fraught with controversy. “Now that the Sports Minister has sued for peace and is prepared to ensure a very transparent process conducted by qualified persons, I want to appeal to Globacom and Total Promotions and those they claim to represent to embrace the new process for the good of the league”, Ladipo appealed.

He attributed the confusion in the cancelled league bid to the activities of commissioned agents who he said are only seeking opportunity to profit from football without contributing meaningfully. “What are we talking about? Some people messed up the process when they announced a company that did not bid for the right as the winner. I think that was what caused the problem and it is also strange that a company that has the interest of the league will choose to hide behind another organization to bid for the league”, said the Supporters Club boss.

Ladipo further argued that a situation where the two telecommunication firms are locked in a bid for the league rights will yield bigger offer than what was obtained the last time. “It is my considered view that if the two telecom giants were aware they are bidding against each other, the stake would have been higher and the league will be the beneficiary. So I don’t understand the reason for the so_called proxy bid”, submitted Ladipo.

The President of the Supporters Club said any company that has genuine interest in the league will embrace the new process and step out openly. In his words, “we have averted a situation where a company said to have been represented in the acquisition of the rights will jettison the league tomorrow and claim it never bided.

The best thing to do now is for companies interested in the league to step out publicly and declare their interest; after all, we know that they all won their operational licenses from the same Federal Government of Nigeria through public bids”.

He concluded by urging individuals who have dragged football matters to court to respect the office of the Honourable Minister by withdrawing their cases and go to the round table for a peaceful resolution of their grievances. Ladipo noted that, “with the matter in court, it is difficult to achieve meaningful growth and this is why I have commended Globacom for the retreat from judicial processes which we all know grinds very slowly”.

NPL Congress: Ministry  dictates tune

The Congress of the Nigeria Premier L;eague will meet today in Abuja to deliberate on the ongoing tussle for the league title sponsorship and the protracted leadership crisis that has rocked the competition since last year. The meeting holds at the NICON Luxury hotel in Abuja.

There are strong indications that the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Commission which have since okayed the NPL/MTN sponsorship deal could be bankrolling the NPL congress.

In the heat of disagreement between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Davidson Owumi-led NPL over the sponsorship award to MTN, the sports commission set up a committee that looked into the entire bid process.

After their deliberation, the committee okayed the bid process and subsequently approved the deal which according to reports was termed as “transparent and in order.”. But the we gathered that due to intense pressure, the Sports Ministry have made a U-turn as they agreed to fund the Congress of the NPL to start a fresh bid.

“The NPL said that they had no money for the Congress but the Ministry of Sports was willing to pay for the venue (NICON Luxury) and settle other expenses”, a reliable source said.