23rd December, 2014
There is a serious rift in the Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, over a new contract for coach Stephen Keshi with a majority still opposed to this.
Africanfootball.com reports early today that a section of the NFF leadership wants Keshi to be given a new contract despite failing to qualify Nigeria to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations so as to at least keep their plum jobs.
A top source disclosed this group believes Keshi’s “very powerful friends” will finally accept them if they give ‘Big Boss’ a new deal.
However, this group is opposed by a majority on the NFF Executive Committee who has stuck to a “unanimous decision” in October to sack Keshi.
It will be recalled that the NFF fired the coach only to later be forced to rescind this decision on the orders of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
There is certainly no love lost between Keshi and his employers even before this sensational u-turn and the frosty relationship has been worsened by the Minister of Sports and Chairman of National Sports Commission, NSC, Tammy Danagogo’s decision to directly pay the coach N14 million as salaries for his work in October and November. Most recently, several top coaches including Shuaibu Amodu, Christian Chukwu and Adegboye Onigbinde have asked Keshi to walk away from the job because he has failed. Even NFF president, Amaju Pinnick said recently that if Keshi would be given a new contract, he must be willing to work with and be under direct supervision of Amodu who is now the Technical Director of the NFF.