A member of the Atlanta 96 Olympic Gold medal-winning Dream Team, Kingsley Obiekwu, has again received a donation of N1 million from the managing director of Luckybay Homes, Ikechukwu Ujomu....CONTINUE READING
The ex-defender had opened up on his financial struggles which he said compelled him to use his Sienna car for commercial transport in order to sustain himself and his family.
Mr Ujomu, who also is the chief executive officer of Luckybay Estate and Properties Limited, confirmed the donation to PREMIUM TIMES Saturday morning.
He said he was moved to make the donation to Obiekwu because he was touched by the ex-defender’s pitiful story.
“When I heard about it, I just made contact to confirm the authenticity of the story. They sent me his (Obiekwu’s) contact and his account details. So, I just decided to make that donation to help him in his situation,” Mr Ujomu said.
The entrepreneur also said he had been a long time fan of the ex-defender during his active period in football.
Both Mr Obiekwu and Mr Ujomu are from Ibusa in Oshimili North Local Government Area, Delta State, South-south Nigeria.
Mr Ujomu’s donation was coming barely two days after Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, made a donation of N2 million to the ex-defender.
When contacted, Obiekwu declined to confirm the donation saying he had decided to keep every donation from people private until further notice.
The Ingas FC coach said he was embarrassed on Friday by his players asking him to give them money from Ahmed Musa’s N2 million donation.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I don’t want to be going viral, (and) giving information concerning money before people will kidnap me or my family members. At the end of the day, I will thank Nigerians for what they did for me,” Mr Obiekwu said.
How it all started
On Monday, February 14, Onyeka Okoh, popularly known as ‘Okwuluora,’ an Enugu-based journalist, had announced via his Facebook page, that he saw Mr Obiekwu, a former Super Eagles defender, in Abakpa motor park, loading buses and driving Sienna to Nsukka, a Local Government Area in Enugu State.
“I hugged and greeted him then cried like a man. He never made it to the highest level. Where are his teammates? I will tell Kanu Nwankwo about this,” Mr Okoh said via a Facebook post.
“We can help lift him again if he is willing. That environment (motor park) is not for him,” he added.
Hours after the Olympic Gold Medalist confirmed that he ventured into transport business because of his financial misfortune, social media space went abuzz with many Nigerians calling for assistance, from well-to-do Nigerians including former teammates, for the struggling ex-footballer.
Ahmed Musa, the Super Eagles skipper, began what could result in an avalanche, after contacting Obiekwu, on Wednesday.
