Minister delays Eagles’ Code of Conduct

Minister of Sports Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi

Sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi has reiterated that the decision and implementation of the Super Eagles bonus reside solely with the Nigeria Football Federation. He however added that the implementation of the reports of the panel on the Eagles Code of Conduct has been systemically delayed to avoid unnecessary distractions.

He told The PUNCH on Thursday that the NSC would not have any further business in the bonus issue having drafted basic rules for those concerned to follow.

He said, “I could not have said that $10,000 regime was still in place when the players got $5,000 for the last match in Calabar. What I have said is that the NFF would do the implementation but the full implementation has been delayed to avoid distractions during this last stage of the World Cup qualifiers.”

In August, a six-person panel drafted a code of conduct and presented their findings on the teams row to the minister in Abuja.

The minister said the panel’s recommendations would be implemented, but warned that bad timing could create more disaffection, distraction and failure.

Earlier in June, Nigeria players embarked on a strike in Windhoek, Namibia which delayed their arrival in Brazil for the FIFA Confederations Cup. The players demanded $10,000 instead of the $5,000 the NFF paid for an earlier game they won against Kenya in Nairobi and $2,500 for a 1-1 draw against Namibia in Windhoek.

It took the intervention of sports minister to get the players the extra money before they could participate in the competition in Brazil.

A report on Thursday had credited the minister as saying that the old $10,000 regime would last through the game against Ethiopia for the playoffs leading to Brazil 2014.

The Special Assistant to the minister on media, Julius Ogunro, who also spoke with our correspondent said the earlier report was not accurate.

 “There is no change on the bonus agreement. As you may know, the new rate of $5,000 was paid in Calabar. What I know the minister ever spoke about was based purely on the full implementation of the panel’s report. The panel’s report is very strategic and as soon as we are done with the World Cup qualifying matches, we will implement the report fully. That was what the minister said.

“We don’t want to introduce the report now so that it does not distract us from the work we have at hand. We will continue to manage it. It is after the World Cup qualifiers that we plan to put in place the structures that can provide the final solution to it,” Ogunro said.