Sports Ministry Steps in to Investigate NFF over W’Cup Bonus Saga

Chigozie Ihunda in action before the injury last season

Femi Solaja

The frosty relationship between the Sports Ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) remain unabated following the decision of the ministry to look into the recent allegations by some Super Eagles stars that they were shortchanged over their win bonus for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria by NFF.

Last week the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung took the Glass House to the cleaner at the Annual General Meeting of the Federation on some salient issues including the financial dealings of the body with FIFA and the quest of the helm man’s quest to seek for an elective position in the CAF Executive Committee in the first quarter of next year.

But yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Christian Ohaa, said that the allegations will be investigated.

“The record of the amount released to the NFF is in black and white, nobody can shortchange the players again and I can tell you that we will look into it, I just got the report now and we will look into it,” Ohaa said.

AfricanFootball.com had reported on Wednesday, allegations by some Super Eagles players of being shortchanged on their win bonus for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria by the NFF.
Although, the NFF denied the allegations on Wednesday, claiming they had an agreement with the players to be paid a flat sum of one million naira for home wins.

Eagles coach at the time NFF claimed they reached the agreement Samson Siasia according to africanfootball.com has denied the team agreed to be paid N 1 million for a home win.
“I don’t know anything about one million naira” Siasia said yesterday.
“The agreement was that they will pay the equivalent of dollars at the bank rate, official rate. I don’t know about anything else.”

The Super Eagles’ win bonus is $5,000 per player, which would be N1,525,000 when converted at the official N305 to the dollar, but the players received N1 million each instead, with the NFF claiming that bonuses for home wins was pegged at a flat fee of a million naira, with only away wins attracting the $5,000.

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