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Dalung, Pinnick wade into Dream Team’s protest in Rio

By Editor
13 August 2016   |   3:46 am
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung and NFF President Amaju Pinnick have moved quickly to douse feelings of discontent in the Nigeria U23 team camp, ahead of today’s quarterfinal clash with Denmark.
Amaju Pinnick

Amaju Pinnick

Team Back In Training For Denmark, NFF Explains Delay In Salary Payment

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung and NFF President Amaju Pinnick have moved quickly to douse feelings of discontent in the Nigeria U23 team camp, ahead of today’s quarterfinal clash with Denmark.

Pinnick told thenff.com yesterday that he had spoken with Head Coach Samson Siasia and that the team would certainly be in high spirit for the clash with the Danes at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador this evening.

“I just finished a long telephone discussion with Siasia and I explained to him the situation the NFF is in and why he has not received his salary. As I explained last week, we received some money from CAF and I directed that the money be used to offset the salaries of the U23 team coaches and also for the Super Falcons’ coaches.

“The money has come into the NFF account but it has to first go into our TSA (Treasury Single Account) before we can access it and then use it. The vouchers for the payment have already been done.

“Siasia confirmed that before I spoke to him, the NFF General Secretary had also called him to explain the situation to him. We are not unmindful of what our coaches are going through in this challenging period and we praise them for their patriotism and hard work despite all these.”

Pinnick also commended the Sports Minister for his concern for the team’s welfare. “I want to specially appreciate the Honourable Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung, who had already dispatched accountants to the U23 team hotel to pay the allowances of players and officials before I called the team.

“The Honourable Minister instructed the accountants to also pay the four alternate players, who are not accredited for the Games. We commend him for his efforts.”

2 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    The Minister for sports, Dalung need to be fired for his incompetence in handling the preparation for the Olympic games. Nigeria has 4 years to prepare yet the Minister and his officials failed woefully. Footballers were stranded in Atlanta for days, accommodations were bungled, no salaries and allowances being paid to athletes and coaches but money was budgeted for the Olympic games. Nigeria Sports Ministry has always been a big joke. The only thing they are very good at doing is to embezzle public funds

  • Author’s gravatar

    Are these people serious at all?! The Minister ‘…dispatched accountants to the U23 team hotel to pay the allowances of players…’; and this is 2016! If the intent to defraud is not there, there is no need to be dispatching a whole ‘Accountant’ to pay people. Payment solutions are out there that are reliable, transparent and more importantly, traceable.
    Nigeria is such a joke with these self-important clueless lot.