Facts have started emerging on why Handball Stakeholders in the country has decided to jettison the incumbent president Alhaji Yusuf Dauda to embrace more experienced Barr. Mark Jacob.
Barely two week after the endorsement of the Kaduna born Sports administrator to be the sole presidential flag bearer of the federation, authorities in the National Sports Commission (NSC) seem to have seen reasons with the stakeholders as they couldn’t get anymeaningful explanation from Alhaji Yusuf Dauda’s led HFN board on why the federation was owing a whooping undisclosed sum of money runninginto millions of Naira to the Management of Hamdala Hotel Kaduna.
Investigation shows that the huge debt came as a result of 33rd edition of the African handball championship held on October 2011 in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria. Hamdala Hotel accommodated the teams.
Handball Federation of Nigeria was to deposit 50% of the N30m in advance and pay up the balance on arrival of the teams to the venue of the championships.
A top Director in National Sports Commission who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that the official money generated in the championship supposed to clear all the debts stating that he never expected such national embarrassment from such a federation they are funding very well.
“It is a tradition that teams participating in the championship pay per athlete and official for the duration of the championship”
“During the championship, Euros 60 was paid per head of participant. The competition had 12 male teams and 10 female teams. Each team is allowed a minimum 16 players and four officials. So no less than 440 persons paid Euros 60 per day for the 10-day event”
“That amounts to Euros 264,400. With exchange rate of N206 to the Euro, N54.466m was collected as income. How come Hamdala Hotel’s N30m could not be settled by the organizers? How did they manage the funds that they accumulated an extra debt of N11m to Hamdala and no allowance was paid to the people that worked for HFN championship? NSC provided buses for the internal transportation in Kaduna and other minor logistics. The last time I heard about the case, I was told that they have remitted little sum to Hamdala account”
“I can confirm to you that the management of the hotel has written to us several times on this issue and our attempts to get good explanation from HFN board have proved abortive. Now the Hamdala Hotel Management are threatening to take the matter to court. This is a national shame”
“I was event meant to understand that the management of the hotel nearly interrupted the final match of the championship in not for the intervention of some key personalities in the sports sector in Nigeria” the Director concluded.
When contacted, the head of legal team of Hamdala Hotel Mr. Ogbonna confirmed the story but declined further comments saying that at the appropriate time, the Hotel management will make their position known.
Meanwhile, all efforts to talk to top board members of HFN have proved abortive as they have all tactically avoided commenting on the issue.
