31 yrs on: F/Eagles appeal to FG to redeem scholarship pledge

THE 1983 Flying Eagles squad to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mexico has appealed to the Federal Government under the administration of the President Goodluck Jonathan to redeem its pledge of scholarship promised the team when it qualified the country for its first FIFA competition.The team captained by the late Ali Jeje was the first national team to qualify the country for its first ever FIFA competition and was promised scholarship by the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari .Thirty one years on, the pledge has not been redeemed and this prompted the ex players to send an appeal to the Federal Government to redeem its pledge so that they can enjoy the fruits of their hard labour.The team's vice captain, Paul Okoku from his base in the United States begged Jonathan to ensure that the pledge is redeemed so that many of them will be able to use it for the benefit of their families especially those of them in need of funds for medical attention, among other domestic challenges.Okoku via email told Tribunesport that the government could convert the scholarship to money for them since most of them cannot go back to school any longer.'The issue has been raised with the minister of sports, Dr Tamuno Danagogo and the Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye who informed that they had made a report to the office of the president in that regard.'I am appealing to the Mr President on behalf of my coleagues to redeem the promise of scholarship award made by the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari when we qualified the country for its first ever FIFA competition in 1983 because we believe that government is continuum. A promise made in 1960 by any government is promise made in 2013 and so we have the belief that this administration will bring smiles to our faces,' Okoku said.
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