No big deal owing Keshi – NFF

Amidst reports on the failure of the Nigeria Football Federation to pay the monthly salaries of Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, who is being owed for several months, President of the NFF, Aminu Maigari has explained that the situation in the Glass House was not peculiar to Keshi.

Speaking after receiving the Sports Administrator of the Year Award in Lagos, early in the week, Maigari noted that the financial situation in the Glass House was bleak. “Yes we are owing Keshi, so what?” he asked, adding, “but Keshi is not the only employee in the NFF who has not got his salary.

We have about 11 national teams and all have coaches. It is only fair that we treat them equally. My management staff have not received their salaries for over a year and nobody is making noise about it.”

He spoke further. “We have to be very careful the way we amplify this Keshi salary issue. If this is unduly amplified we will be downgrading our country,” Maigari said, pointing out that “apart from salary, Keshi doesn’t pay for anything.

“The house he lives in is paid for by NFF, the food he eats is NFF, his movement (transport) is NFF. So what are we talking about?”

It has been reported that the NFF’s indebtedness to all the national team coaches amounts to a whopping N77 million out of which N36 million makes up Keshi’s share.