Yemisi Daniel, the agent of Emmanuel Onyema, has criticised Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) club Nasarawa United, accusing them of unprofessionalism and neglecting global best practices by unveiling the former Ikorodu City FC forward without first finalising a contractual agreement with the player and his representative, Completesports.com reports.
Daniel expressed outrage over how Nasarawa United handled Onyema’s potential transfer, which has now collapsed, describing their approach as a deviation from procedural decency and professional norms.
However, Nasarawa United Chairman, Solomon Babanja, has denied any wrongdoing on the part of the club in the ongoing transfer dispute.
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“I sent Onyema to Nasarawa United for trials ahead of a potential January transfer move to the club,” FIFA-licensed player agent Daniel told Completesports.com in an exclusive interview.
“Onyema impressed, scoring two goals in three trial matches. His performance encouraged them to request a striker from me, and I obliged. However, the striker didn’t meet their expectations.
“To our shock, we later saw media reports announcing Onyema’s unveiling by Nasarawa United. This happened without any formal agreement or discussion of the player’s personal terms with the club.
“We reached out to them, expressing our surprise at the unprofessional manner in which Onyema was unveiled. Globally, it is unheard of for a player to be unveiled without a contractual agreement or signed documentation.”
Daniel further disclosed that Nasarawa United eventually agreed on personal terms with the player, offering him ₦250,000 per month. Additionally, they agreed on a ₦1.5 million transfer fee for Onyema’s release.
“We insisted the transfer fee be paid before issuing Onyema’s clearance,” Daniel said. “However, they proposed signing an undertaking to pay the money within a month. We rejected this due to the prevailing uncertainty in the football industry.
“The next thing we knew, they dropped the player. We immediately asked him to return to Abuja. It’s appalling that a top-flight club could act in such a manner.”
When asked about his next steps, Daniel stated that his priority is to secure a new club for Onyema before the transfer window closes.
“My focus now is to find a club for the player as soon as possible,” he said.
However, Nasarawa United Chairman, Solomon Babanja, has refuted all allegations, claiming that the club did not act unprofessionally notwithstanding that Onyema’s name and photo was also mentioned alongside other unveiled players, with his photo too, in a Press Release the club published on its official Facebook page on January 15, 2025.
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Speaking to Completesports.com on Wednesday afternoon, Babanja said, “I don’t know who Yemisi Daniel is. All the allegations are untrue, including the supposed unveiling of Onyema by our club.
“We only know one Agali Ijeoma as Onyema’s agent here in Nasarawa. We’re not aware of any other representative, either locally or internationally.
“Onyema is a good and strong player, and we needed him. But there’s no way we would unveil a player without completing his transfer formalities—it’s against professional standards.”
Babanja added that Nasarawa United is open to working with Onyema if circumstances permit.
“As we speak, our team is in Jos, and we’re expecting them back. I’ve already told our coach, Kabiru Dogo, that we can still work with Onyema because of his quality,” he concluded.
At the time of filing this report, Babanja was yet to respond to further inquiries after ending the call, citing another engagement.
By Sab Osuji
