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Sports News of Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Source: THE SUN

Journalists Rob Coach Jones Of ¢350m

A wonderous yet mentally-warped crop of sports journalists who appear everyday on various networks preaching the holier-than-thou epistle are in a deep, smelly, heap of trouble following their ganging-up to deprive the celebrated Ghanaian coach, Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, of financial contributions and gate proceeds that should have beefed up his bank accounts.

The pain, anguish and shame of it all is that ailing Attuquayefio is in the throes of a most debilitating throat cancer sickness, that requires an enormous amount of cash yet the lads in the middle of the saga have played the wicked hunter, who had little or no mercies on the sick animal, and shot it for game for the evening meal.

At the centre of the controversy has been the issue of the whereabouts of the countless numbers of donations running into several hundreds of thousands of Cedis, and other foreign cash doled out by many celebrities including some $3,000 donated by Black Stars striker, Asamoah Gyan. But while the coalpot burns fiercly hot, the lads involved in the case are said to have galloped in full-speed all the way to yet another celebrated coach, Ibrahim Sunday, one-time Africa’s best player to quick-step his strides all the way to Bubuashie, where Coach Attuquayefio stays, to play the crisis-resolver by pleading on their behalf for eternal pardon.

A line up of the sordid names has one Lawrence Opare-Otoo of Primeval Consult organizers of the event, sacked Joy fm sportscaster Ernest Koranteng, the Rev. Azigiza Jnr and William Bill Ezah of the Ghana News Agency.

As THE GHANAIAN SUN prepared to go to press, the gang were reported to have been locked up in talks with the coach’s lawyer, Mr. Harrison Addo, a known phobian who works with MTN over exactly what, the paper cannot decipher.

But the story as it broke not from the oven says sometime last year, the lads conceived the idea of organizing a charity match on behalf of the celebrated coach, having perhaps the ulterior motive of desiring to exploit the situation by playing knick-knack on Jones’ ailing throat issue.

The story continues that the veteran coach initially kicked against it because according to reliable sources possibly, the public was going to form the impression that he was a pauper of some sort, desirous of raking in some quick bucks to fend for himself. But several appeals from the sweet-talking gang saw Jones cave in, and so with his blessing the lads strode off to work. Aside the donations from magnanimous quarters that have been kept under wraps ever since Adam and Eve were school-going kids in the Garden of Eden, there was the gate proceeds that was said to have fetched some ¢350 million, even though at the end of the day only a ¢1,000 was paid to Mr. Attuquayefio. Briefed further, THE GHANAIAN SUN was informed that the gang raked in ¢350 million even though that too was believed to have been under-declared. The veracity or otherwise of this, however, cannot be corroborated. However, between Larry Opare-Otoo and Rev Azigiza, it was udnerstood that the said ¢350 million was whittled down to just ¢140 milion.

“As to who pocketed what or how much the gang siphoned into those wicked pockets, no-one can tell,” a female source with a throat as deep as a manhole told THE GHANAIAN SUN last week.

But the story continued that one William Bill Ezah who played the anchor man was said to have subtracted ¢15 million for fuel for the NSC floodlights on the night, and further deducted some ¢20 million to offset a certain indebtedness to a certain female sports journalist (name withheld), who also worked once-upon-a-time at GNA.

With a paltry ¢105 million remaining, it is believed Mr. Ezah pocketed some ¢80 million but around the time, the Electronic Ticketing Department at the Accra Stadium showed up for an unpaid bill as regards service on tickets produced for the match, and demanded ¢50 million.

It emerged that when the electronic ticketing gentlemen came over to demand their monies, all in the gang met for a meeting, after which they agreed to offset part of the ¢5.000 from their booty which they did. However, finally when the remaining cash of just a ¢1,000 was sent to Mr. Attuquayefio in his residence, a shell-shocked oldie Attuquayefio could barely put himself together with the mess that had been perpetrated against his good self. The source continued that at one stage, Mr. Attuquayefio opened his mouth a bit too long with being stupedfied with amaazement and when he managed to shut it, he only asked what had become of Asamoah Gyan’s $3,000, which he feebly instructed should be paid to the Ear Nose and Throat Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, for standing by him throughout his ailment. Checks by THE GHANAIAN SUN has proved that the gang never dispatched the $3,000. Additionally it was gathered that and if indeed Jones’ club Hearts of Oak had not played smart by issuing a ¢1,000 cheque in his name as part of the club’s commitment to his predicament, and passed fiscal cash through the group that too would have been missing in oblivion.

When reached for his version of events, William Bill Ezah told THE GHANAIAN SUN’S managing editor that “I cannot deny or confirm the story”, yet a few minutes later he cowardly sent a text message on his cell number of 0244-685-639 at 14 hours 4 minutes on Friday 12th October 2012 stating, “Next time check your facts well and be sure before you do follow-up on stories ....mtchweeee” However a call back to the same number went unanswered after several rounds of tolling. THE SUN