While Governor Adams Oshiomhole, like all governors, regularly pays himself and his numerous aides, he has a problem understanding why other workers need their fair recompense. It has emerged that former Super Eagles coach, late Shaibu Amodu was being owed N25million in salaries, sign-on-fees and house rent and other entitlements by Edo State government, which is being fingered as the cause of his death by Amodu’s cousin, Nkuri Afegbua.
The Vanguard has scooped that the issue was contained in the last letter written by Amodu in October 2015, which he addressed to Oshiomhole.
Chief Press Secretary to Edo Governor, Peter Okhiria yesterday acknowledged that the late coach submitted a memo for claims to the office of the Secretary to the State Government. However he disputed the N25 million figure.
“The memo was being attended to before he died. I don’t know the exact amount but it ‘s not up to N25 million.’’
Afegbua had told journalists after Amodu’s death that he was owed by both the Edo and Federal governments. He had explained that Amodu was in Benin chasing the money owed him by the Edo State government.
Amodu’s letter revealed that the amount owed him included, N1million for outstanding sign-on-fees for 2013/2014, for consultant/technical adviser, N3 million, for House rent for two years (2012-2014 and 2013-2014) at N1.5m per year while the balance of N16million was for the payment for the coaches and other support staff for the period of August 2014 – July 2015.
He decided to write to the governor due to Oshiomhole’s refusal to meet or discuss with him notwithstanding the efforts he made in that direction.
Part of the letter read, “Your general body language and attitude towards me in the last few months clearly indicate that there may have been some misconceptions/misrepresentations which you have not given me the opportunity to clear.
“Sir, I have made several efforts through telephone calls and text messages to you to enable me sort out issues that may have been misconstrued, but to no avail. I also tried to reach you through your close subordinates, but got no response.
“The only option was to relinquish my appointment and walk away as I have always done in offices where I experienced similar treatment in the past. But this will amount to disrespect to your office and disregard to your care for me and my family when we most needed it.”
Amodu reminded the governor how he shunned Ondo State, which gave he a similar appointment at the time he approached him for the job, because he wanted to serve his home state.
On the nonpayment of his entitlements, the letter continued: “This brought hardship to me and my family. Thanks for the understanding and patience of my landlord; I would have been thrown out of my rented apartment for failure to pay my house rent in the last two years.
“I have come to the sad conclusion of taking the part of honour by respectfully resigning my appointment as consultant/technical adviser of Football Development Programme in Edo.
“Although technically, my appointment seems to have been terminated by the Accountant General by the stoppage of my monthly salaries since June 2015, this official resignation takes a retrospective effect from September 30th, 2015.”
The late Super Eagles coach never got a response until he died in his sleep on Saturday, June 11, 2016.
Afegbua insists that his late cousin died of frustration, part of which came from the refusal of Edo State and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to pay him his dues.
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