By Blessing Odega
A Football Coach, Michael Jatau, has taken the Nasarawa State government and its Football Club (Nasarawa FC) to National Industrial Court, Jos, on alleged N19.7 million unpaid entitlement.
According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday, Jatau, through his Counsel, A. B. Yirvoms, had filed a case before the court, which advised the two parties to explore clause 12 of the contract terms.
The clause states that: “Any dispute between the parties rising from this agreement shall be entitled in accordance with the provision of the Arbitration and conciliation Act CAP 19 Law of the Federation or FIFA)”.
Yirvoms said that the court gave the advice following a counter motion filed by the Nasarawa State government demanding the exploration of that clause.
He explained that as counsel to the plaintiff, he had written to the Nasarawa FC and gave the management seven days within which they should appoint an arbitrator to join the prosecuting counsels’ arbitrator in the expected arbitration committee for the settlement but to no avail.
The lawyer said that in his letter dated June 21 to the club, he explained the importance of forming the arbitration committee to both parties “yet up till this moment that we talk, the club has not responded to it.”
“We act as counsels to Coach Michael Jatau herein known as our client, on whose firm instruction we write you this request.
“You will recall that we drew your attention to the above-mentioned matter which our office was briefed sometimes in April 2023.
“It is our clients brief which we firmly believe to be true, that he was engaged via a contract agreement with your football club for a period of two years, from Nov. 1, 2019 to Nov. 1, 2021.
“Consequent upon that agreement, our client diligently served your football club as coach of the football team.
“That after the expiration of the period of his engagement, you have failed on your own part to pay him the agreed salaries and housing entitlements amounting to the sum of N19,680,000.
“Owing to the above, we wrote several letters of demand dated April 4, 2023, April 8, 2023, June 8, 2023 and Aug. 24, 2023 respectively but without response.
“Consequent upon this and in line with Clause 12, we therefore urge you to within seven days of the receipt of this letter initiate arbitration by appointing an arbitrator to represent you while we, thereafter, appoint ours for the disposition of this case.
“We do hope you will act accordingly as same will help in alleviating the trauma our client is undergoing by your refusal to pay his entitlement as and when due”.
But Yirvoms said: “The implication of the club’s silence and inaction on the request would mean going back to the court and report to it our bitter encounter.”
“We are ready to prosecute the matter before the court and demand justice for our client,” he added.
Responding, the Nassarawa State Commissioner for Sports, Ja’afaru Ango, claimed that he was not aware of Yirvoms’ letters.
“If not now that you mentioned it, I wasn’t aware of such letter demanding us to appoint an arbitrator for the arbitration committee.
“I will confirm with our Permanent Secretary. I am only aware of the one written to our State Attorney General, ” the commissioner said. – NAN
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