By Chinedum Ohanusi
The General Manager of Rivers Hoopers, Ifie Ozaka is reported to have vanished into thin air, with at least N.3 billion Naira (three hundred million Naira, only) belonging to the club.
It’s not clear where the GM eloped to, but many believe he japaed to either the United States, United Kingdom or to Canada; while others believe he is in hiding, somewhere in the country, and watching the reactions of both the management of Rivers Hoopers, and the Rivers State Ministry of Sports.
As the news raged on, the Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Barrister Christopher Green has sent out a message, assuring the on the run GM of a softlanding, in the sense that he will be allowed to remain as Chief Executive of the reigning Nigerian Premier Basketball League Champions, and repay whatever he unlawfully took away from the team’s coffers in installments.
However this has not gone down well with some senior players of Rivers Hoopers who have petitioned the state government, about the scandal.
The monies we were reliably told, include funds that accrued from the club’s participation in successive editions of the Basketball African League (BAL), and the paltry earnings, they made as Champions of the Nigeria Basketball Federation organized Premier League.
Questions raised in the petition include, how was it possible for the hierachy at Rivers Hoopers, the Rivers State Basketball Association and the Rivers State Ministry of Sports to all turn blind-eyes to such a whooping amount, lodged in a single individual’s account, without a counter signing signature.
