Ailing former Super Eagles forward, Emmanuel Ebiede, has been assured of medical support from the Rivers State Government after he was diagnosed with Hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver), The PUNCH reports.
Pictures of the protruding stomach of the 47-year-old ex-international went viral on social media late Tuesday night.
The PUNCH on Wednesday reported that the 47-year-old ex-international, who is on admission at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, was rushed to the hospital by his club members after he fell ill.
Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Chris Green, who was represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Sammy Wejinya, during a visit to Ebiede at the hospital on Wednesday, empathised with the former Sharks player, and promised that the state’s sports ministry would help the ailing ex-international.
“You served Rivers State and Nigeria with distinction and we share in this sad situation,” Green said.
“We always state that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain and we are assuring you that the Rivers State Government, through the Ministry of Sports, will stand by you in these trying times.”
Responding, Ebiede’s sister, Joy White, expressed gratitude to Green and the Rivers State Government.
“On behalf of my brother and the Ebiede family, I want to say a big thank you to Green, the Rivers State Government and everyone else who has stood by us. May God bless you all for your magnanimity,” she said.
As of the time of filing this report, UK-based David Doherty had raised over N700,000 from donors for Ebiede’s medical bills, with Doherty himself donating N100,000.
“We have been receiving tremendous responses from well-meaning Nigerians and we hope to get more funds for him to help him recover fully,” Doherty told The PUNCH.
The Chairman, Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria Task Force, Harrison Jalla, told The PUNCH that efforts were being made by the body to ensure Ebiede received the right medical attention he deserved.
“Since the news broke, PFAN’s Welfare Committee has been looking into the matter to see how well they can join in helping Emmanuel,” Jalla said.
Also, PFAN president, Tijani Babangida, added that talks were ongoing with highly placed Nigerians to come to the aid of the former forward.
Former Eagles goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, expressed delight at the support given to Ebiede.
“I’m happy that immediate help has come his way from his state government and Nigerian but most importantly, I pray he gets treated properly,” Dosu told The PUNCH.
“The sports ministry should also help him as well. He needs all the support at this moment.”
Ebiede was a member of the Flying Eagles squad at the African Youth Championship on home soil in 1995.
He had two caps for the Super Eagles, making his debut under Serbian Bora Milutinovic in the 1-0 win over Iran in a pre-1998 World Cup friendly January 28, 1998.
At club level, Ebiede joined Belgian First Division side SC Eendracht Aalst from boyhood club Sharks of Port Harcourt in 1995.
In 1997 he moved to SC Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie, before further spells in the United Arab Emirates (1999-2004) and Israel (2006-2008). He then returned home to feature for Bayelsa United and Sharks. He retired in 2011.
