The newly-appointed chairman of Enyimba International Football Club of Aba, Nwankwo Kanu, has broken his silence of Monday’s sacking of the entire board, management and coaching crew of the former African champions.
The UEFA Champions League winner said much as the memo which sacked workers in the team did not spare anyone, Coach Finidi George who just led Enyimba to their ninth Nigerian topflight title was not affected in the clearing exercise, even as he noted in the memo that the sacked staff had within 48 hours to reapply for the job.
Kanu, the Atlanta ’96 Olympic gold winning captain, while reacting to the rumour from London, described the report that his former team mate at Ajax Amsterdam of Holland was also sacked as handwork of negative people trying to put problem in the team.
“It’s not true, it’s negative people trying to put problem. Finidi is the coach and we are working with him”, Kanu stated.
He further noted that the clubs new sporting director who was at the NPL club owners meeting with other clubs asked the members of the technical backroom staff to reapply if they still wish to work with team “only for the negative minded persons to misinterpret the whole report.”
Meanwhile, the directive to sack the entire board of Enyimba was issued in the early hours of Monday July 17, 2023 via an official statement signed by the club’s sporting director, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, on behalf of the chairman.
The statement which was titled: APPLICATION FOR RE-ABSORPTION INTO ENYIMBA MANAGEMENT, sent shocking waves through the football world as a 48-hour ultimatum was issued to ensure compliance.
A member of the team who is also affected told our correspondent that t he coach is sitting on a keg of gun powder as the memo did not spare anyone, thus he is affected.
“As far as I am concerned, the coach is not secured because if they considered him, they would have made it plain in the memo but communicating orally that he is not affected is not enough.
“He is affected and I am not sure his work is secured again; that is my position on this,” said the former staff.
Also speaking to our correspondent, Zazi Bariza, the former media officer of the team, said the chairman had distanced the coach from those affected and so everyone should now believe that Coach Finidi George is not affected.
“The memo did not say that he is not affected but now the chairman has come out to say he is not affected, I think we should believe him,” Bariza said.
