Executive Secretary of Nigeria Premier League, NPL, Alhaji Alhassan Yakmut has called on other clubs to break their over dependence on government sponsorship by emulating the good example set by Lobi Stars of Makurdi which recently embraced the  privatization message of the premier league board.

Before the commencement of the ongoing season, the government of Benue State which was the sole sponsor of Lobi Stars FC sold out sixty percent of the club to a private company and is now left with only forty percent control over the club.

Speaking to Trustsports yesterday in Abuja, Yakmut cited the development in Lobi Stars as a positive response to what the league board has been preaching concerning private sector participation in the running of the premier league clubs.

Yakmut explained that a transition programme of two years has been fashioned out to ease government out of direct involvement in the running of the clubs just as he added that at the expiration of the two years, the league board would have been able to arrive at a consensus where by one central law can determine the position of a club in the strata of affairs.

Yakmut therefore noted that already there is light at the end of the dark tunnel as he maintained that the step recently taken by the Benue State government is one in the right direction and must be copied by other states.

He said “already Benue State has taken the lead. Sixty percent of Lobi has been sold out. Government is holding only forty percent. This is the kind of partnership we want government to have with the private sector and that is the area we are emphasizing”

He said that over dependence on state government for funding has continued to slow down the progress of the clubs because most times, such governments do not respond in time to the needs of the clubs.

“Government involvement in the day to day running of the league is too much. It is so much that we cannot run them professionally. The clubs are still within the dictates of their local laws rather than professionalism”.

Yakmut attributed some of the financial problems of clubs to late release of funds by the respective government, a development which he said has always made it difficult for clubs to fulfill their contractual agreement with their players and coaches.

The NPL Executive Secretary therefore reiterated that the sooner other state governments emulate the good example set by the Benue State, the better for the league as he maintained that with its privatization, Lobi Stars would certainly be spared some of the bureaucratic bottlenecks that confront clubs when it comes to release of funds to them.

positive development