Gbenga Elegbeleye, Director General of the National Sports Commission, has described the NFF's inability to pay Stephen Keshi's wages as a 'national embarrassment' and queried the football house. On Wednesday, Keshi complained that he had not been paid since leading the Super Eagles to the Africa Cup of Nations title earlier in the year, sparking off outrage around the country, and the NSC has been left fuming. "This is unacceptable," Elegbeleye told KickOffNigeria.com.
"And we've queried them. I don't know why they should owe the national coach. "As far as I am concerned, it is a national embarrassment." NFF officials have blamed a cash squeeze for their inability to meet the wage obligations of both secretariat and contract staff, especially with key sponsors failing to pitch up with their financial obligations. The cash crunch has led to a trimdown in national team backroom staff, as well as the widely-publicized slash in Super Eagles bonuses.
But Elegbeleye said the NFF should have come to ask for help. "If they are having challenges with raising money, they should have come to us. But they have not complained to us that they cannot pay. "The coach is not like the secretariat staff, he is on a contract. Because their staff have not been paid does not mean the national coach should not be paid. If he gets sacked today, there is no gratuity, so why should he suffer?" Elegbeleye asked with a tinge of regret.
Source: NSC queries NFF over Keshi's wages (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/nsc-queries-nff-over-keshis-wages/)