NFF cautious over Keshi’s contract

The Nigeria Football Federation members have said that they are being very cautious about Stephen Kesh’s contract renewal despite their reported plans to complete the process as quickly as possible.

A member of the Federation who spoke with The PUNCH on Wednesday said that the right word to use about the position of the Federation on the matter is ‘cautious.’ He explained that despite the need to quickly get a coach in place, there were a lot of issues to critically examine before the final decision could be taken.


He said, “We (the NFF) are very okay with continuity and that is why you’ve seen the steps taken so far but for us also the mood is one of being very careful with every step we are taking. The mood is actually being cautious.

“And that’s why I was surprised when I heard people talking about approving N7m monthly for the new contract. We have not reached that stage. The first thing that should come first is taking a very detail look at the team’s last major outing which was the World Cup. We need to read the technical report of that outing and that will be quite an important aspect of the decision making.

“It is quite right to look at higher figures when looking at the new contract having earned N5m in the last dispensation. But the question to ask is can we afford to pay N7m or even pay more. How did we handle the previous N5m contract? Was the Federation comfortable paying the N5m? Can we afford to pay more and how will the additional money be sourced? So it is not just to rush and increase and then create further problem by not being able to pay as at when due.

“And so inasmuch as we understand what difference inflation would have made to the package in the last three years, we should also be certain that whatever we sign with the coach will be paid without running from pillar to post.”

The board of the Nigeria Football Federation said on Wednesday that they will convene an emergency meeting devoted to finalising the contract deal with Keshi as Nigeria coach. The decision followed the meeting of the Federation’s Technical Committee members and later the board which held on Wednesday in Abuja.

After going through the initial report of the committee set up to open channels of communication with Keshi, the NFF Executive Committee then approved that the Acting President Chief Mike Umeh should convene a meeting of the NFF Emergency Committee to approve/finalise details with Keshi. This, they said, is to fast track the negotiations/employment within the shortest possible time as the 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers will kick off in September.