NNL Slot: Osun Govt In Talks With Collins Edwin SC
By Solomon Odeniyi
The Special Adviser to the Governor of the State of Osun on Youth and Sports, Hon Adelabu Adegboyega, has said the state government was yet to receive a notification officially from the management of Collins Edwin Sports, informing it of the withdrawal of the NNL slot sold to the state-owned club, describing the news as mere speculation.
Adelabu added that the only received letter was from the League Management body, following which the government stated what transpired and expressed its willingness to pay.
The Special Adviser on Sports who spoke exclusively to OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday said the state government had committed a lot to the deal and has been making overtures to the Lagos-based club, so as to amicably resolve issues.
He said, ” There was an agreement that the payment for the slot will be done mid-season unfortunately the league didn’t get to that stage before it was brought to an abrupt end as a result of the pandemic.
“We might not have paid, but it doesn’t mean we have defaulted. We did not get to the middle of the season as agreed. We have been making overtures to them. We want peace, we know we are owing them and we will eventually pay them, we are working on that.
“Government business is not being run on speculations. They have not written to us to officially to inform us that the slot has been taken from us. The League management Committee has written to us to inquire why we didn’t pay for the slot and we have replied them, telling them our side of the story and expressed our willingness to still pay for the slot.
“The LMC are yet to get back to us. Anything contrary to the correspondence received from the league management body is unknown to the state government.
“Let me also tell you that a slot can’t be sold to two clubs within a season. If you go to NNL website you will still find Osun United there as the owner of the slot. We registered and we paid for the change of name. We have committed a lot into the transaction.
“They didn’t just give us the slot. We exchanged ours with theirs.
“Like I earlier said, we are willing to pay and we are also willing to meet them, we want to tow the line of peace. Non-payment of that money is not our fault. We are willing to meet them and immediately we agree the money would be paid. The budget of the team, which had in it the money for the slot, has been approved by the governor. We are going to ensure we pay.”
