Updated: LMC, Club Owners truce meeting deadlocked

The truce meeting the Nigeria Football Federation planned to sort out the differences between the League Management Company and the Premier League Club Managers and Chairmen on Tuesday was deadlocked as the Club Owners, as they are fondly called, were adamant and insisted that the LMC should pack up and go.
The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, who just arrived from Morocco, venue of the just-concluded CAF U-17 Championship, where the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria emerged runners-up, led the meeting and pleaded that both parties should agree to work together in the interest of Nigerian football.
The Club Owners, however, refused to change their position on the matter and there was heated argument.
Inside sources told The Eagle Online that the Chairman of the LMC, Hon. Nduka Irabor, engaged in shouting argument with the boss of Nembe City, Victor Rumson Baribote, and managers of other clubs at the parley.
The meeting then became stalemated as some of the clubs representatives walked out of the NFF Boardroom, venue of the meeting.
Aloy Chukwuemeka of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Football Club, who spoke with the sports journalists that covered the event at the Zone 7, Abuja Secretariat of the NFF, confessed that the meeting was inconclusive.
Chukwuemeka said: “We have agreed that the league should continue to progress and the major beneficiary of this meeting is the league itself.
“As I am talking to you now, we have agreed that the league will continue.
“Although the meeting was inconclusive for now, we strongly believe that we will reconvene and continue with areas of disagreement.
“For now, the league will continue to progress and I want to assure you that the intervention of the Nigeria Football Federation is very crucial.
“Since the meeting was inconclusive, then we will remain with the directive of the NFF that the status quo be maintained.”
The NFF however said that the meeting will continue at a yet-to-be-fixed date and venue.

Our earlier story

A meeting to resolve the impasse between Club Owners in the Nigeria Professional Football League and the League Management Committee ended in a deadlock on Tuesday.
The meeting was called by the Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari.
The two sides, which have been fighting over the control of the league, agreed to reconvene to iron out the issues but did not state when. Both sides reportedly stuck to their different positions.
Details soon.

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