NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau
By Raphael Ekpang
Heads will certainly roll in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the impending sack of about twenty staff of the federation, mostly those recruited by the Amaju Pinnick led board.
The immediate past President of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick had allegedly recruited about twenty staff without work scheduled, offices nor portfolios and they are paid N250, 000 each monthly, but the current leadership led by Ibrahim Gusau is said not to be ready to keep liabilities in the Glass House.
A close source to NFF President Gusau said the new leadership of the NFF is not willing to keep owning staff salaries, players and as well as coaches’ allowances, therefore, staff who were recruited under Amaju Pinnick leadership who have no work scheduled in the federation have been penciled down for sack.
The source further said, Pinnick brought his cronies to NFF and paid them a huge amount of N250, 000 each, monthly totally about N5m without job prescription or portfolio, a situation the source said has been the reason at some point NFF declared it was broke and mostly the reason they are owing players and coaches allowances and staff salaries as well.
The source who prefer to be anonymous said, “We are now happy because from what we are hearing, our new president is ready to pursue some persons Amaju Pinnick brought here as staff and paid them N250, 000 monthly while we the real staff were left grumbling all through his tenure in NFF.
“We would never pray someone like Pinnick to come back again as NFF President. Thank God Gusau from his antecedents and what he has started already we are sure of another glorious years in NFF,” the source said.
It will be recalled that, in 2016 after winning the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), the FALCONS were not paid a dime from the NFF, a situation theytook to the streets to protest the non-payment of their allowances.
Though, NFF shifted the blame to the ministry, if not the unnecessary wage bill orchestrated by the employment of the 20 staff by Pinnick, the allowances were within the ambit of the NF to pay the players.
Again, in 2021, the federation also blamed COVID-19 for it inability to pay national teams players and coaches
At some point also, NFF Secretary-General, Mohammed Sanusi reacted based on Leon Balogun’s outburst during a podcast chat where he accused the NFF of doublespeak with regards to the payment of their bonuses.
Sanusi who admitted that NFF was indebted to the players, in defence said, the challenges and disruptions caused by the global coronavirus pandemic were still being felt by government institutions and businesses the world over, and there was no need to pretend that these were normal times.
Notwithstanding, despite earning billions of naira from sponsors, the Federal Government and grants from CAF and FIFA, the board led by Amaju Pinnick left behind accumulated debts running into billions of naira for Ibrahim Gusau board.
Most hotels in Abuja where national team players are accommodated are still grumbling over monies owed them by the NFF. And the coaches, both indigenous and foreign are not smiling because they are owed several months of salaries.
