Bayelsa Football Teams Block Roads Over Non-Payment

                              Players of Bayelsa football teams, Bayelsa United and Bayelsa Queens, took to the streets of Yenagoa, the capital city to protest alleged refusal by the government to pay them arrears of salaries and allowances.
                   The players barricaded the road leading to the Bayelsa Government House at Opolo, obstructing traffic and lamenting unpaid allowances and sign-on fees.
                    They accused the government of planning to abandon them after their last 2014 league match scheduled for Sunday.
It was gathered that the protesters
wanted to disrupt the proposed visit of the Governor to the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to the state House of Assembly complex for public presentation of the 2015 budget.
But the governor could not turn up as he was said to be in Abuja.
It was learnt that security agents pleaded with the protesters to leave the road.
The armed operatives were said to have urged them to be patient and to channel their grievances to the appropriate quarters.
A player who spoke on condition of anonymity said that it was unfair for government to treat them in such manner.
“It is so sad that this issue has degenerated to the extent that the players had to protest for their benefit instead of preparing for their trip for the last league games.
“I think everything needs to be done to prevent another occurrence because the situation is certainly out of hand, we stay in one of the worst camp in the country, feeding most time on our own, and it is just obvious that we have been abandoned by the state government.
“The outstanding debts is quite much, some of the players are being owed four years salaries, some one year, and some have not been paid since they were employed, so how do you address it, we will rather stay on this road until our demands are met.”
Another player further expressed sadness over the poor handling of the state teams by the current administration.
He said the administration had refused to appreciate the teams, adding that they had approached the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) without any reasonable solution to their plight.
Ambrose Vanzekin, the team goalkeeper and Adegoke Mutiu, a player, also spoke angrily over the nonpayment of their salaries.
Vanzekin stated that he had not been paid for two years and threatened that they would continue to protest until the government pays them.
Adegoke lamented that they lost their best players because of the refusal by the government to pay them.
A member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Emmanuel Isenah, representing Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency 1, met with the protesters who later blocked the Assembly complex.
He pleaded with them to leave the road promising that the matter would be addressed during their emergency sitting.