Chief Executive Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Company, Bukola Olopade lambasted the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Phillip Shaibu and former Local Government Chairman in Edo State, Frank Ilaboya over their comments on the sponsorship deal between Bet9ja and League Management Company (LMC).
Olopade described the deputy governor as a failure asking the state indigenes to demand how he spent so much money on the team without results.
Frank Ilaboya and Phillip Shaibu had accused the Nigeria football governing body of manipulating the qualification of Remo Stars to the Nigeria Professional Football League immediately after LMC sealed a sponsorship deal with Bet9ja on Wednesday. Actually, the CEO of Bet9ja, Kunle Soname is also the proprietor of Remo Stars.
Reacting to Frank Ilaboya and Phillip Shaibu claims, Olopade described it as shameful saying the deal has nothing to do with Remo Stars picking the ticket to play the NPFL.
“It is rather sad that Frank Ilaboya and the deputy governor of Edo State can trivialize the importance of working hard to bring sponsorship to our football.” Olopade said in a voice note made available to BSN Sports.
The former Ogun State Commissioner for Sports added, “We have been working on this sponsorship for more than six months alongside Davidson Owunmi which at a time was positioned to be the CEO of LMC and after he became the CEO we went and close the deal. It has nothing to do with play-off or no play-off.
In Sports and in football, there will be winners and there will be losers, but we don’t desecrate the same platform that we all use as business and comeback to say we’re friends of football or we’re friends of the house. It’s a shame that a former chairman of an FA who is also a former local government chairman can just come up and talk like this, I feel very sad for football today, it is ridiculous that anybody can just desecrate the sweat and hard work of people who are trying to position football in the true sense of it.
“Some of the things that president Amaju Pinnick has brought into football from corporate Nigerians has never been seen before and it should be applauded rather than this nonsense that people are going about on. I’m extremely very proud to be part of this deal for the Nigeria Premiership League and I hope people can comeback to their right senses.
He asked the state indigenes to demand for how he sent so much on the team without results adding that the running of the team should be removed from him and handed to a professional body for genuine results.
“I understand that you win some and lose some and prepare for the next season. Together one must join hands to ensure that football is as clean as what we can think of, that effort is ongoing and we must see to it but if we keep desecrating this spot, how do we get the private sector to support our efforts, so for the record, Nilayo Sports Management Company brokered this deal of the Nigerian Premier League and Bet9ja but this is a deal that has been going on for more than six months and it has nothing to do with individual person of Hon. Kunle Soname and the people of Edo State should compel the deputy governor to explain how he spent money and his team could not win promotion or take the responsibility away from him and give it to professionals who will run Bendel Insurance more effectively for them to win promotion rather than this shenanigans going on because you have failed.
“Failure is a routine in a man’s life, we all will fail one time or the other and from there we can pick up the and look for the success path as we continue to grow. This is all I have to say for now but it is shameful and disgraceful that Frank Ilaboya can condemn a very hardworking effort to bring good money into our league that is in dire need of money.” He concluded.
Remo Stars picked the second group B NPFL ticket at the expense of Bendel Insurance at the just-concluded Nigeria National League Super 8 playoff in Enugu.