The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports, Mr. Richard Idike, has described the recent allegations of a financial scandal against Abakaliki FC Head Coach, Starplus Aniesta Chibuikem, as a deliberate attempt to distract the club’s management from delivering on its mandate.
The commissioner made this statement while speaking with journalists in Abakaliki, following an incident involving an operative of the State Anti-Graft Commission who reportedly attempted to arrest the coach at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium over alleged unauthorized deductions from players’ entitlements.
It would be recalled that an Investigative Officer of the commission, Barr. Chukwuorji Igodo, accused the coach of imposing an initial 10 percent deduction on players’ allowances, which was later allegedly converted to a fixed monthly charge of ₦50,000 per player.
The officer also alleged that eight indigenous players from Ebonyi State were removed from the squad and replaced with players recruited from Enugu State.
Reacting to the development, Mr. Idike dismissed the allegations as false, baseless, and politically motivated, insisting that neither the ministry nor the club management mismanaged any player’s funds.
According to him, the ministry has maintained a high level of transparency and accountability in all its financial dealings, stressing that recruitment of players and financial expenditures concerning Abakaliki FC were carried out in line with due process.
The commissioner explained that upon returning from an official trip to Abuja, he visited the anti-corruption agency to honour an invitation sent to him, only to be told by the chairman that the agency was not aware of the letter.
“When I received the information that our coach was invited, I contacted the officer who authored the letter, but he ignored my calls. I tried to explain that we were at a critical stage of the football season and needed full concentration,” he said.
He further stated that he later received another letter requesting him to appear before the agency with his statement of account, appointment letter, and other documents, but when he visited the office, the Chairman clearly told him he was not aware of the invitation and had not authorized it.
Mr. Idike also stated that the same officer later stormed the stadium during training in an attempt to arrest the coach a day before a crucial match against Godswill Akpabio United, an action he described as an unnecessary distraction.
Speaking on the allegation of illegal deductions, the Commissioner said previous investigations carried out by the ministry, including private interviews with players, did not confirm any wrongdoing.
He explained that out of 45 registered players, 23 were indigenes of Ebonyi State, while the remaining 22 were selected from other parts of the country to strengthen the team, in line with an agreement with the state government.
He added that some players who were not featured in the first half of the season were moved to the feeder team to enable them to participate in the Challenge Cup while still receiving their full salaries.
He therefore urged stakeholders to support the ongoing reforms in the sports sector rather than engage in actions capable of disrupting the performance of the state team.
