Director of Media, Heartland FC, Solomon Onu, has given an insight on how the management of the club spend the N30m monthly allocation from the Imo State Government, amidst reports that officials misappropriated the funds.

Our correspondent learnt that the allocation, which was initially N18m, was increased to N30m.

Onu told The PUNCH that the management had always been transparent and never hid from the club’s faithful how the allocations were spent.

“There is nothing hidden in Heartland finances.

“The club get N30m monthly allocation and we pay salaries of N17m for players and staff, the cost of playing our matches in a month is N12m, which is not even adequate when you add the FA Cup campaign. We have a youth team and you have to pay those boys’ salaries when they play matches, you pay their indemnities for matches and match bonuses, then you know that it is a tough order that you only budgeted for main team and not for the youth team, no budget for the U-15 team, no budget for the FA Cup and most times LMC make us play mid-week matches.

“Since January 29, 2019, LMC started mid-week and weekend games. Instead of playing just four matches in a month, we now play seven or eight matches. And it took the effort of the chairman to run the affairs of the club because if you sum up the money we spend, we usually have N1m left, which isn’t enough to take care of other issues.

“Imagine when the vehicles, office equipment break down, it is from this N1m that we take care of them.

“By the time Heartland played seven to eight matches between December and January, we were in debt. The chairman bankrolled it because the money meant for December had finished by the time the Supreme Court called judgement, and in January we had no money to honour the game against Enyimba.

“If there is anyone who demands to know how the money is being spent and they have the locus standi to do that, they can meet the secretary of the club and get clarification.”

When asked about the club’s failure to pay players’ salary for December, Onu said, “We made a promise to the players that we will pay them as soon as we can.”

Heartland’s assistant captain and Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, confirmed to our correspondent that the club held a meeting with the players and have promised to pay the outstanding salary.

He said, “We are being owed only December salary but the management wrote to the government and has agreed that they are going to pay us.”