By Amaechi Agbo

The League Management Company, LMC has blamed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Special Presidential Investigative Panel, SPIP for the delay in the commencement of the 2019/2020 Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL.

The Chief Executive Officer and Director of the LMC, Nduka Irabor who disclosed this on Wednesday said that with the investigation carried out by the anti-corruption agencies in the Nigeria Football Federation, the image of the league has been damaged, hence the difficulty with which the league management body is encountering in securing sponsorship deals.

Mr Irabor who noted that leagues get money from broadcast right for sustenance, said that the league does not have a television adding that they are still negotiating with sponsors to come in.

 “League gets money mainly from broadcast right. Now, we don’t have a robust sponsor, and we don’t have television for the league. We are still negotiating. What we have is ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) and the SPIP (Special Presidential Investigation Panel) on the neck of many people.

“Most of the things being investigated are internal rivalry, but some people have created the impression of a different thing.

“The atmosphere is not okay for our league to start now. Some of the people involved in the running of our football are being invited for questioning by the ICPC and SPIP, and this has made the environment not good enough,” Irabor told Alloy Chukwuemeka

The chairman of the LMC, Shehu Dikko who also is the 2^nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF is under investigation by the EFCC, SPIP and ICPC over cases of financial infidelity and misappropriation of billions of naira.

Dikko’s house in Maitama was recently sealed by the ICPC over corruption related cases with the anti-corruption agency accusing him of accumulating more properties than his earnings can afford.