Former Commissioner Was Behind 3SC Woes - Kelani, 3SC Board Member

Tunde Anifowose Kelani, a board member of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) gave account of what transpired between the club’s management board and the former commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina in Nasarawa where the club lost scandalously by 3 goals to nothing to  Olanrewaju Agiri and also attributed problems facing the club to the in-fighting which bothers majorly on what he described as marginalization of the club’s board by the former commissioner:

What happened in Nasarawa?

“Three out of four remaining 3SC board members, I, Mr. Taiwo Richard and Mr. Bayo Adedokun were in Nasarawa for week 28 Nigeria Professional Football League match, and on match day, we planned to hold a brief meeting with the administrative secretary of the team, Demola Alabi before the commencement of the match to perfect plan, and while we are having the meeting, the admin secretary excused himself, claiming, he want to attend to something urgent, we waited for him and he didn’t return and that was how the meeting ended abruptly.

“To our amazement, he came to us and said that, it was the former Commissioner for Youth Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina who came around to the New Era hotel where we lodged with the players that he went to attend to when he left us at the meeting.

“We saw both of them moving around to meet the players in their rooms and we were surprised and step back because we are men of integrity, we have to comport ourselves in order not to create scene.

“Later Alabi came back and told us that the Commissioner has arrived to administer the match, concerning all match logistics and everything, that he had been doing it even before our arrival in Nasarawa. I was furious and asked him on what basis, we all knew that, two days before that day, the Oyo State Governor had dissolved his cabinet, while all Commissioners have vacated office, and I told him what they were doing was illegal.

“How can he leave us where we are having meeting on the match and joined with person who was out office, but in order not to create
distraction for the players, we decided to keep cool, and left for the stadium thereafter, because that meeting was between 1:30 and 2:30 pm.

“3SC lost 0-3 which was too painful to all of us that accompanied the team there. I must tell you it was shocking and astonishing to me reading in Tribune newspaper following day that the former Commissioner denied he was in Nasarawa while he was actually there,

“Why was he denying it if hIs present there is illegal or has ulterior motive? It was not a hidden fact that he came to Nasarawa because even some people that accompanied him came to greet us, and himself was wearing a sky-blue guinea brocade and rode in ash colour Camry saloon car.

“It was too funny and surprising that, at that high level one can be denying what is not deniable. That he’s action only corroborated how we were caged as the board for the past 18 months..”

3SC never recorded a scandalous loss like that this season, what can you say is responsible for that in Nasarawa?

“What I can say is that, the officiating of the match was poor within a minute into the match a penalty was awarded against us, and thank God the keeper saved it and thereafter, there are many questionable calls by the center referee which gave the home team questionable goals which was scored within 15 minutes.

“But I must say that we also need to improve the technical aspect of 3SC, we can be trading blames but the fact remains that our technical crew is deficient.”

What did the board now want to do to salvage the present situation of the club now? 

“When we came back to Ibadan, we called a general meeting of all players, technical crew and staff where we preached unity, discipline, dedication to duties, co-operations and sabotage.

“I must tell you, the Governor has done very well for 3SC and that was why we at the board are not happy because we know that, we can do better but we were not given free hand to operate because the board is hundred percent handicapped.

“The ex-commissioner was fully in-charge of everything, he approves everything that must be done and we can’t do anything without him.

“He told us he has that was the way he had been doing it before we came in. and when we came on board, we went to him and I specifically told him that he needs to handover the affairs of the club to us and he said no that he cannot handover anything to us.

“He said it emphatically and we have it on record that he ‘the Commissioner for Youth and Sports cannot handover 3SC to the board’, he also told us that anything as to do with finances must pass through him so that he can be bale to defend it.

“And henceforth, anything we do, the file has to pass to him for approval..”

What really happened in the controversial 3SC and Sunshine match in Akure?
          
“I can’t give any account because there is no board member in Akure for the match.”

Why?

“The Commissioner has to approve who travels with team and in that very week, he did not approve any board member to go with the team. 

“I personally called the admin secretary that board member must be in Akure and he said no, that Commissioner never approve any board member to go and that was how Dapo went there alone, and I must tell you that, part of the factors that worked against us before the NFF’s O&D panel was that our Commissioner who supposes not to be in the technical area was found in the dressing room, the panel quoted the particular section in the statue guiding football that is only the team’s board that should handle team’s affairs and not any government officials.

“So we are not in Akure because he did not approve it and we are not in Owerri because we are not sanctioned by him to go and he went there alone, if not that the cabinet had been dissolved before Nasarawa match, he would have went there alone again, that was how he had been doing it alone.

“It is an open fact that the ex-commissioner was running 3SC alone, even when he traveled out of country, he was approving all our action on phone. The last time he came back from vacation and was saying we have spoiled things in his absence is surprising to us because he was approving on phone.

“Nothing can be donewithout his approval, the board former chairman would not do anything without him approving it, that was the major thing that course big problem for the team, I can say that before anybody because I’m hundred percent sure of what I’m saying.

Can you shed light on what was likely responsible for resignation of the Board Chairman?

“On this note, I will like to respect the privacy of my former board Chairman, Mr. Toyin Akintunde who cited a personal reason for resigning his appointment, but as for the four remaining board members, we remain undaunted.

“We would not allow any intimidation to scare us from doing our duties. Our last home match against Rangers, people were instigated to kill me and I reported it to the Oyo FA Chairman, I can tell you they have attacked us more than four times at the stadium, they instigated fans against us but we know who are behind all the series of attack.

“We know they want to frighten us from coming to stadium and take full control of the club, but that would not work.

“We have realized that some people considered 3SC as their pot of soup for so many years and nobody can come and take it away them, they have been eating there for the past 10 years without bringing any good results to the team.

“We cannot continue like that and that was why we are grateful to Senator Abiola Ajimobi for appointing people who have their own minds to run the club now.

“In the composition of the board, we have technocrats like journalist, referee, psychologist and astute businessmen among us, so the
board appointed by governor is the best but was caged, and we don’t want to be too confrontational because we are working for the same government.

“We are surprised that people are accusing the board. We did not do anything wrong, the board has a fantastic blueprint for the club, but since last year they never allow it to be implemented.”

You said the technical aspect of 3SC is deficient, what do you mean by that?

“We have noticed that since last year and we wrote a letter which was signed by all the board members, requesting for employment of more competent and experienced new coach, the commissioner turned it down.

“We don’t have chief coach, the present coaches we have had served under senior coaches in the past, they got promoted when Coach Festus Allen was sacked and we believed that, hiring more experience coach is going to benefit them, benefit the players and everybody but Lam-Adesina didn’t approve it.”

What do you think is the major problem of the team?

“Shooting Stars don’t have any serious problem, what we are seeing as problems now are artificial and unprecedented, at least we have been there for past 18 months and we have seen it all.

“What we are seeing today is handiwork of some people. Imagine it is only in Oyo State that the commissioner had been banned for one year now, it’s only here that supporters club chairman was banned indefinitely, the problem of Shooting was not the fault of the board because no board member was indicted for anything.

The problem of the club according to my findings was because former Commissioner Dapo Lam-Adesina never allows others to contribute to the development of the club. We strongly believed that Shooting Stars should go higher and higher.”

What did the board now want to do to salvage the present position of the club on the log?

“Shooting Stars will never go to relegation, we have launched operations win the remaining 4 matches’ but the job is not for the board alone, but a collective effort of all and sundry.

“Although the board is now working 24 hours to see how the already damaged situation can be salvaged. Nobody is going to rest until October 20 that the League is going to end.”