Fiery Catholic cleric, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka has reportedly called for a refund of the millions of Naira he donated to players of Enugu Rangers after they won the NPFL.
Father Mbaka
Popular Enugu-based Catholic priest, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka is calling for a refund of his N2 million donation made to the players Enugu Rangers Football Club after they won the Nigeria Professional Football League last season.
According to a report by Vanguard, the influential cleric was irked by Enugu Rangers reluctance to distribute the donations he made to players. He is also said to be angry with Rangers’ resort to fetish practice for good luck in their matches this season.
It was gathered that there are allegations the club’s supporters sprinkled the blood of goat and pigeons on the pitch for luck. This is just as members of the dissolved board dismissed the allegations.
A source close to Mbaka said: “He has given the dissolved management two weeks to give him back the money, so that he could share the money to the players himself.”
Meanwhile the committee set up by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to unmask the reasons the club failed this season resumed work yesterday.
The committee, inaugurated last week, is headed by Agu Caleb with Enugu State SWAN chairman, Norbert Okolie, FA representative among others as members.
Rangers had a dismal 2017 season. They crashed out in the preliminary round matches of the 2017 CAF Champions League.
They also struggled to escape relegation to the second-tier league by the whiskers, forcing sponsors of the team, Enugu State Government to wield the big stick by sacking the executive board, management staff as well as their coaches.
Government also disengaged all contract staff as well as all seconded staff of the club and set up a probe panel as a first step towards ushering in a new era in the club.