The Minister of Youth and Sport Development, Solomon Dalung, on Thursday threw a shocker when he said the country’s National Teams coaches are not on the payroll of the Nigeria Football Federation.
Rather, Dalung said the NFF depends solely on what it gets from sponsors to pay the coaches.
Speaking with select Sports Editors in Lagos on Thursday, Dalung said he got to know this after Nigeria’s exit from the qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations coming up next year.
He said before the return leg of the two legged qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt in Alexandria, the NFF put pressure on him to approve the disbursement of N480 million for the payment of allowances and salaries of the team.
He said he gave the approval based on the assumption that the coaches and players would be paid.
Dalung said he was however shocked to learn after the defeat of the Super Eagles that the team’s coach, Samson Siasia, was not paid, while the players got their allowances.
He said what came to his mind was how the NFF expected Siasia to be focused during the match while being owed salaries.
He said: “Coach owed five months salary?
“Can he see the players correctly?”
Dalung said after the Super Eagles loss, he was shocked to learn that the coaches were not paid.
He then asked to know how much the NFF had in the account and what it is to be used for.
He said he got the shocker of his life when he was told that out of the N90 million the NFF had in its account, N27 million was going into the painting of a building of the Federation.
He said he cancelled the item for painting and turned it into payment of coaches salaries.
It was then he was told that the coaches are not the responsibility of the NFF.
The coaches are paid from money provided by sponsors.
This, according to Dalung, essentially means that if no sponsor brings money, then the coaches will go without salary.
He added: “In all, I believe there is a need for radical reforms of Nigerian football in order to avoid further embarrassment in the nearest future.
“Nigerian football is caught between devils with horns and blue sea and it deserves to be delivered.”



Shocker: National Teams coaches not on NFF payroll -
http://theeagleonline.com.ng/shocker-national-teams-coaches-not-on-nff-payroll

Can't they pay the coaches from the 90million and suspend the useless painting of the building? They will do the painting when they get money from the sponsors.
Corruption and wickedness is the order of the day in Naija.