NFF admits owing Keshi

Nigeria Football Federation officials have admitted that they owe Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi four months’ salaries. Even though it had been reported in the past, the officials were silent on the matter until Monday when a member of the NFF board Mr. Chris Green confirmed the situation.

He, however, added that they hope to offset the bills by the end of this month.

“Yes, we owe Keshi about four months salary. It is also true that we have not paid him since the AFCON feat in South Africa,” the NFF technical committee chairman, Green,has  said.

The official also added, “However, we have structured our national team in a manner in which coaches get daily allowance, match bonus, free feeding while they are in camp. But we are working round the clock to ensure that by the end of this month Keshi’s outstanding are settled.”

Keshi who is on N5m a month salary has not complained publicly concerning the debt. The documents obtained by us confirmed that the last salary paid to Keshi and his assistants was that of the month of February. The details from November 2011 when Keshi was employed show that he and his four assistants earned a total package of N11m per month for the period covered. The total pay for the coaches from 2011 to February 2013 stands at N176m by the NFF papers. Sylvanus Okpala and Togolese Houan Dinou Valere have since been removed from the pay list as the federation cut down the coaching crew of all the national teams and their backroom staff soon after the Africa Nations Cup. They cited fall in revenue and increased cost of running the national teams as the reason for their action. The Togolese was recalled to the team by Keshi on a personal arrangement. Both assistant coaches earned N1m each before they were dropped.

Even though the NFF officials and Keshi may have found a way to manage the situation concerning the salary, the same cannot be said about the match win bonus of the Eagles as they believe that the coach did not professional manage the row in Windhoek, Namibia following a 2014 World Cup qualifying match. The players rejected the $5000 offered by the NFF and insisted on getting $10000 they had previously been paid for a win. The strike caused the team to arrive late in Brazil for the FIFA Confederations Cup.