Missing €15,000: Heartland FC fights ex bosses, alleges dubious players transfer
The management of Heartland FC have accused the former chairman of the club, Chibuzo Etuemena, and the former secretary of the club, Cajetan Nkwopara, of serious financial crimes, The PUNCH reports.
According to the Owerri-based club, the duo failed to clear all the contracts they brokered on behalf of the club during their tenure from July 2015 to July 2019.
In a statement made available to The PUNCH by the club’s Director of Communications, Solomon Onu, the board alleged that €15,000 was also missing from the club’s domiciliary account, adding that the duo also refused to hand over the club’s property in their possession properly to the current management.
“The management wishes to express her dismay over the activities of Etuemena, a former chairman of the club, who has refused blatantly to account for his stewardship and subsequently, hand over properly to the current management of the club,” the statement read.
“The club has before now made frantic efforts to get Etuemena to come and hand over properly while making clarifications on some strange developments under his watch as chairman of the club.”
During Etuemena’s tenure, Heartland signed deals with kit manufacturers, LIG and Jordan Red. The club also embarked on a two-week training tour of Turkey.
“All contracts brokered on behalf of the club under Etuemena for almost four years are nowhere to be found and the documents are not in the custody of the club, thus leading to endless litigations by players who were hired by Etuemena.
“Heartland demands to know what happened to the club’s domiciliary account, which had €15,000 under the watch of Etuemena, and the player Francis Momoh, a Heartland player who was sent to an NNL club in Enugu but was released shortly before his transfer to FC Zurich, which meant that the club got nothing from the deal.
“The club needs clarification (on) why the club got nothing from the transfers of Chimere Maduba, Francis Eze, Francis Momoh, and Odinaka Ahiaeke.
“The club will like to know why Etuemena is still receiving correspondence from football bodies courtesy club licensing and failed to inform them that he is no longer a staff of the club.”
When our correspondent contacted Nkwopara, the former Heartland secretary said the allegations were plots to tarnish the image of the former chairman (Etuemena).
“These are baseless allegations,” Nkwopara told The PUNCH.
“I handed over to Nevil Okere on July 15, 2019, and talks of players transfer are all plots to stop Etuemena from returning to the club.
“They are having several issues, among which is the payment of players’ salaries, which was never a problem under the past chairman. They are also looking for whom to blame for the current problems bedeviling Heartland FC.
“The truth is that the present management led by Charles Ezekwem took over Heartland FC in July 2019 and presided for one full season. All the players mentioned in the LMC and FIFA disputes had no problems whatsoever with Heartland FC. The only problem cited in the disputes is illegal termination of contracts which we all know, was carried out by this present management when it entered.” Punch
