Uche Cries Out After 3 Years Of Non-payment of Salary

Uche Cries Out After 3 Years Of Non-payment of Salary

By Editor

Head coach of Heartland Queens, Eucharia Uche, says she is yet to receive any salary since she was appointed three years ago by the Imo state government.

Uche was the first woman to win the African Women's Cup of Nations as a player and coach in 2010, with Nigeria and later led the Super Falcons to the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany.

She joined the Nigeria Women's Premier League (NWPL) outfit in 2017 from now-defunct COD United Ladies, following the disbandment of the Lagos based women's team.

Despite being relegated in 2018, the 46-year-old helped the Owerri outfit back to the top flight a year later but is now owed a backlog of salary for up to 36 months to the tune of six million naira.

The former Super Falcons coach says she has not received a dime from her employers since her engagement in 2017, while narrating her ordeal.

"I was contracted by governor Rochas Okorocha's administration through then commissioner in 2017 to help build Heartland Queens," Uche told Goal."All through Okorocha's time from 2017 to 2019 he never paid me nor anybody. They kept promising, making approvals without releasing the money.

"Then when governor Emeka Ihedioha took over from him's he promised to settle the debts but before then court cases set in and from there he was replaced by Uzodinma.

"All I want is to be paid my accumulated salaries for what I have laboured for. I need someone who can draw the attention of the governor to my situation for him to issue an order to pay me.

"Going through from one office to the other can be very frustrating as it gets stalked along the way.

"I am not a politician but a professional coach. I wish to appeal to governor Uzodinma's intervention on this. I deserve my pay.

"By my calculation, I am being owed over six million naira but my family is suffering. I was not given accommodation, transportation nor other incentives all through this period."

Efforts to extract a response from the Imo state government proved fruitless as officials of the sports ministry declined to comment on the matter.

Heartland are drawn against holders Rivers Angels, Ibom Angels, Royal Queens, Osun Babes, FC Robo Queens, Delta Queens and Adamawa Queens in Group B for the 2020 season.

And the former Nigeria international will be hoping to challenge for the Nigerian league diadem if she is allowed to continue in charge of the team.