NPFL club facing LMC ban over debt to players

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side Warri Wolves is facing a ban from the League Management Company (LMC) over their inability to pay the salaries of players and officials of the club.

The organisers of the NPFL have issued a notice of summary jurisdiction to the Warri based club after conducting its investigations.

The investigations were prompted from the reports that players of the club had gone on strike to protest the none payment of their salaries.

A summary jurisdiction notice has been served to the club for failure to pay financial entitlement to the players for a period exceeding 60 days and cited this as a breach of Article B9.45 of the 2014/15 NPFL Framework and Rules.

It could be recalled that Port Harcourt based sides Dolphins FC and Sharks were served the summary jurisdiction notice before the government swiftly acted to remedythe situation.

Chief Operating Officer of the LMC, Salihu Abubakar said the summary jurisdiction notice is a routine exercise which the body will continue to carry out to ensure compliance with regulations.

By this notice, Warri Wolves stand to lose six points if they don't pay their players within 60 days of receiving the notice and a further three points for every other 30 days for which the remuneration or entitlement of the players remain unpaid.

“You are therefore required, within sixty (60) days of the date of this notice, to remedy the breach, otherwise the Board intends to exercise its summary jurisdiction and to impose on you an initial deduction of six (6) points and a further deduction of three (3) points for every further thirty (30) days for which the entitlements remain unpaid," the letter wrote in parts.

The striking players were also cautioned by the LMC  for embarking on the action without 'exhausting the provisions of the rules which require players of clubs in the league to first issue a notice to the club and also give the LMC a 15-day period within which to intervene'.