Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC),Blasts Keshi, Defends NFF

Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has attributed the inability of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pay salary arrears of Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi and his technical crew to systemic failure.

Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Abuja, he insisted that the NSC and NFF are however working towards resolving the issues causing the delay in the payment of seven months salaries owed the coaches.

He queried Keshi for going to the media on the issue, adding that the coach should have given his employers enough time to resolve the matter, instead of taking it to the media. "If NFA is having problems paying Keshi's salary, it means that the system has a problem and that system has to be addressed.

"It is unfortunate that Keshi has to bring out the issue of his salary and make it a media issue, because it is something that can be addressed internally," he said.

He revealed that the NSC had already waded into the matter, saying the issue should not have been brought into public domain. "We are taking the right steps to support the NFF to meet this obligation. But, for me, it is not something that is supposed to be a media issue. However, do you boycott working or call a press conference because somebody owes you salary? When you get a job you do it and you don't go about embarrassing your employers because your salary is delayed," Abdullahi said.