At Long Last, Governor’s Belt Organisers Ready To Pay Osoba, Others Prize Money

IKPO IGBINOBA 

Two years after emerging champion of the Lagos State Governor’s Belt, Abdulafeez Osoba will soon get his money; that is if the organisers live up to their promise.

For Osoba who is Nigeria’s best ranked boxer on the International Boxing Association (IBA) ranking, the agonising wait for his prize money will be over in a couple of days.

Secretary of the Lagos State Boxing Association, Mr. Yusuf Lawal gave the assurance while fielding questions from  P.M. EXPRESS on Wednesday. 

According to the secretary, the aggrieved boxer and other boxers who won prizes during the championship will get their money very soon.

“Osoba will get his money very soon. Apart from Osoba, the other boxers who placed second and third will also get their money. 

In fact, the money is ready and we are 80 percent through with the processes”, he said.

Though, the secretary’s promise should be heartwarming, Osoba who won silver medal at the All Africa Games in Rabat, Morocco in 2019 is not amused by the drama and delay in the payment of his prize money.

The welterweight boxer once ranked number eight in the world said he never believed  it would take the organisers two years to pay him.

According to him “I won the Governor’s Belt in December 26th, 2019. 

“Just a few days after, the organisers approached me to release the Governor’s Belt for them to engrave my name.

“I agreed to release the belt because of the respect I had for the chairman of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame, organisers of the Governor’s Belt, Mr. Wale Edun. 

They also promised to pay me”.

Osoba said previous winners of the Governor’s Belt were paid N500,000 for releasing the Belt.

“For example, Taiwo Agbaje who won two editions of Governor’s Belt was paid one million naira, at N500,000 for each.

Aisha Oriyomi who also won got N500,000″, he said.

Osoba released the Governor’s Belt in early January 2020 with the hope of getting paid in a few days.

Unfortunately, days became weeks and weeks became months, yet the soft-spoken boxer was not paid.

The organisers returned to Osoba early December asking him to participate in this year’s edition of the Governor’s Belt.

The aggrieved boxer declined, insisting that he must be paid his 2019 prize money.

He eventually missed out of this year’s edition of the Governor’s Belt which took place on Boxing Day.