By Amos Aar
THE NIGERIA Premier Football League (NPFL) has lifted the suspension on Lobi Stars Football Club players following the club’s compliance with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Players Status/Arbitration Committee’s decisions.
According to Lobi Stars FC head of media, Uja Emmanuel, chief operating officer of the NPFL, Davidson Owumi, notified the club’s chairman, Dr. Philip Nongu, of the reinstatement of players’ license through a letter dated October 30, 2024.
Uja explained to National Record on Thursday that “the last administration led by Iorfa Dominic signed a player but suddenly sacked him. NPFL frowned at such action.
“So, the player went to NFF Arbitration Committee and they found Lobi guilty and yesterday we paid. When they find you guilty, they will sanction many players as punishment”.
It was further gathered that the Nigeria NPFL on October 25, 2024 enforced arbitration decisions of the NFF Players Status/Arbitration Committee following the failure of affected clubs to take advantage of extended windows of moratorium.
The clubs were respectively dragged to the NFF Committee in disputes over salaries and entitlement of some of their former players and coaches.
Some of the affected clubs included Plateau United (14 players), Lobi Stars (15 players), Kwara United (20 players), Katsina United (players) and Enyimba International (18 players).
Others include El-Kanemi Warriors (13 players), Bayelsa United (18), Akwa United (17 players) and Abia Warriors (23 players).
Now, following the reinstatement, all Lobi Stars players are eligible to participate in NPFL matches.
Lobi Stars chairman, Dr. Philip Nongu, and Technical Adviser, Daniel Amokachi, welcomed the development, applauding the efficient resolution process and its benefits for team training, respectively and playing in NPFL matches.
