Mike Idoko; the Chairman of the six-man interim committee of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) said the option for the way forward in the Nigerian Premier League was the sacking of the former board chairman of the league body, Chief Victor Rumson Baribote.
And this was the decision of the 20 Premier League clubs.
He said that the former NPL board had failed in the development of the league, stressing that the gains made over the years by previous boards had been eroded with the administrative style of the sacked board, thereby stagnating the progress of the NPL, during the inaugural meeting in Abuja yesterday.
“We had to do this in the interest of the league and Nigerian football. Clubs used to benefit financially from the title sponsorship money and at a point we were fighting for increment. But in the last two seasons or so, the clubs have been made to bear the brunt of NPL’s inability to source for sponsors,” he said.
“We don’t have any problem with Baribote as a person but it’s glaring that his board failed and we have to move forward. Clubs spent heavily on match indemnities due to the inefficiency of the board under Baribote, while the players suffer because the little the clubs had were being used in covering the glaring inefficiency of the board.
Idoko further described the Baribote led-board that it lacked transparency and accountability, hence a window for the inability of the league to attract title sponsorship for the past two seasons, as he cited the hard work and transparency of other boards before the Baribote-led board, it will be recalled that
Idoko was part of the glory days of the NPL under Chief Oyuki Obaseki.