The management of Plateau United Football Club of Jos has asked the acting technical adviser of the side, Victor Wickadson, to step aside barely 48 hours after he was appointed to take over from Zachary Baraje who was himself equally asked to step aside following a run of poor results.

The General Manager of the 1999 National FA Cup Champions, Pius Henwan, told allnigeriasoccer.com exclusively in Jos that the decision had to be taken owing to some unresolved issues between Wickadson and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, which could derail the progress of the team in the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, as well as the National
Federation Cup if handled with kid gloves.

Wickadson alongside several others had been banned from all football related activities after he was linked to a match-fixing scandal in Bauchi in 2013 while handling Plateau United Feeders during a national amateur playoff series where his side recorded a scandalous 76-0 victory over another amateur side from Nasarawa.

The issues were said to have been resolved about two years ago and all involved in the scandal cleared to return to football but following a media outcry by sports journalists across the country the NFF, in a letter sent to the Plateau State Football Association, PFA,  signed by NFF’s General Secretary, Dr Sanusi Muhammed and delivered by the body’s spokesman, Ademola Olajire, said the ban was still in place and Wickadson must not sit on the bench in their competitive games.

Following the development, Audu Isah Pele was elevated to position of the acting technical adviser pending the appointment of a substantive TA in the mid season break.

Pele was in charge when Plateau United held Heartland of Owerri to a scoreless draw at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in a match day 18 fixture of the NPFL on Wednesday.

Plateau United will play host to Kano Pillars in their last game of the first half of the league at the Rwang Pam Stadium on Sunday.

Ferdinand Mbum