Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has demanded accountability in the way the State owned club, Gombe United Football Club, is being managed.
He gave the directive while chatting with the publisher of Northeast Times Newspaper and former chairman of Gombe State Football Association (FA), Alhaji Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, saying the extent he had carried the Nigeria Premier Football Football League (NPFL) side along during his first tenure and has continued to do so. Alas! “All I could get from people was that I wanted Gombe United Football Club dead”.
Governor Yahaya recounted the amount of money his government doles out to Gombe United monthly and queried what had they done with the money?
“I have been releasing 12 million (Twelve million Naira) every month to the club management for more than a year and never stopped. What have they been doing with it?
He continued, “I am aware they have been selling players to other clubs and also transferring players abroad, they only tell him they sold players, but how much, where the money is and how many players he doesn’t know or they don’t tell him.”
A seemingly embarrassed Governor Yahaya, could not understand why a privately owned club in the state, DOMA United, could be doing well and Gombe United owned by the government is complaining.
“Doma United is a private Club owned by an individual not by the government. Why are they doing well? Is the chairman of Doma United spending 12m every month on the club?
“Doma United are from Gombe too, they are not from any other State, I can decide to help them and support them too. For an individual to show the kind of management acumen, accountability and performance of Doma United, they deserve our praise and support,” he said.
The governor revealed he is being scandalized on social media, alleging that people of Gombe State and sports lovers saying he wants to destroy Gombe United, that he is not interested in helping the team.
Interestingly, the governor however regretted how unfair people have been to him and his government despite helping to bring Gombe United back to the NPFL from relegation.
