How Buhari bypassed NFF, directly paid Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup bonuses – Mikel

Former Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, has said he contacted the office of late President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure Nigerian players were paid their bonuses after the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Mikel made this known on an episode of The Obi One Podcast released on Tuesday. He said players were owed money for qualifying for the World Cup, but the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) delayed payment for months.

According to him, officials kept promising that the money would be paid once the team arrived in camp, but nothing happened.

“Talking about fighting for players’ bonuses, I went above the president of the NFF to get those bonuses,” Mikel said.

He explained that FIFA usually releases funds before major tournaments and that football federations often borrow money to pay players early, then refund it when FIFA pays.

Mikel said the players became worried when days passed in camp without payment.

“The players kept coming to me, saying they needed the money because once the World Cup was over, they might never get it,” he said.

With no solution from the NFF, Mikel said he called Abba Kyari, who was then the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, to report the issue.

He said that within 24 hours, a private plane brought the money to the team’s hotel.

“The money was delivered hand to hand. Millions of dollars,” Mikel said.

He added that he handed the money to the team secretary and warned that it must be given only to the players. The bonuses were later shared among all players who took part in the qualifiers.

Mikel said his action angered some senior football officials, including the then NFF president, who called him for a meeting.

“They said I made them look bad. I told them I had been asking for this money for months,” he said.

Mikel stressed that the money was not a gift but money the players had earned.

Nigeria crashed out of the 2018 World Cup at the group stage after losing to Croatia and Argentina, despite beating Iceland. The team earned about $16 million from the tournament.