Akwa United Forward, Chijioke Alaekwe, has exclusively told Completesports.com that he dedicated his goal against Heartland on Monday to the Chairman of the Promise Keepers, Etubong Paul Bassey.
“I’m dedicating this goal to our Chairman, Elder Paul Bassey,” said Alaekwe, a former FC Ifeanyi Ubah forward.
“This is my small Christmas gift to a wonderful father figure, inspiration, and motivator. I can’t appreciate him enough.”
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The 26-year-old Alaekwe, who had a spell with Bangladeshi side Sheikh Jamal before returning to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), headed in from David Philip’s exquisite corner delivery eight minutes past the hour mark.
His goal—his fourth in four December games and fifth of the campaign—added to Endurance Ebedebiri’s first-half penalty to hand The Promise Keepers a comfortable 2-0 win in the Matchday 18 fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Monday.
It was Akwa United’s fifth win in 18 matches this season as the 2021 NPFL champions moved to 17th on the standings with 19 points.
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Akwa United will visit Remo Stars, while Heartland travel to face Lobi Stars in this weekend’s Matchday 19 fixtures.
After his time at FC Ifeanyi Ubah, Alaekwe joined Kano Pillars, where he spent three seasons (2018/2019, 2019/2020, and 2020/2021). He then moved to Nasarawa United for the 2021/2022 season before heading abroad to play for Sheikh Jamal in the 2022/2023 season.
By Sab Osuji
