The sports ministry has refused to yield to pressure from the Nigeria Football Federation to help sort  the payment of  the Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr his three month’s salary out.Rohr, who  was heavily linked with the vacant Guinea job before  he was snapped  up by the NFF in August last year,  has won  the country’s three competitive matches since his employment.

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NFF had  promised that they  would have no problems paying the  national coach his entitlements because  they  had firms who had agreed to support them financially.But the football federation have been struggling to pay the  German manager  after the anonymous  sponsors pulled out of their deal with them over the leadership crisis that rocked the body last year.

NFF approached the  sports minister Solomon Dalung recently to help save the country from the embarrassment of  not being able to pay  Rohr.But the ministry is reportedly owing a number of national  coaches  and  the minister   allegedly rebuffed   the plea to help resolve Rohr’s salary issue.

It was learnt that Dalung reminded the NFF leadership that he told them before Rohr’s employment that the ministry was against the idea because of its financial implications. It was learnt that the NFF had been unable to secure  sponsorship to fund Rohr’s salary as the companies they approached baulked at the idea, citing the current economic recession in the country. Meanwhile, the officials of the  football house, which is  in dire financial distress, have therefore intensified their search for sponsors to pay the former Niger coach before he starts complaining, according to our source.Dalung’s  Media Adviser  Nneka Anibeze said  the ministry was not in a position to help the NFF because of its own financial challenges. She denied that the minister had abandoned the NFF to their fate, promising that  the minister would  intervene when funds are available to the ministry.

 

Report by Miyen Akiri