NFF TERMINATES KESHI CONTRACT

The Nigeria Football Federation on
Saturday terminated the contract of
Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi after
the NFF Executive Committee held an
extra-ordinary meeting in Abuja.
A statement from the football house
stated “having thoroughly reviewed the
reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF
Technical and Development Committee, as well as having
reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr Stephen Keshi, in
the performance of his duties as Super Eagles’ Head Coach,
which we found to lack the required commitment to achieve
the Federation’s objectives as set out in the Coach’s
employment contract.”
Keshi has been under fire since a report broke out he had
applied for the vacant Ivory Coast job and it that has
effectively put paid to his reign as the coach of the national
team.
The statement further stated that “To this end and
pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment
Contract between Mr Stephen Keshi and the NFF (The
Contract) and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria
Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to
summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr
Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect.”
The NFF also added that Keshi's sack was “without prejudice
to the settlement of any existing and due financial
obligations between the NFF and Mr Keshi.”
The federation through it's first vice president, Barrister
Seyi Akinwunmi, has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm
as the NFF is doing everything it can to build a national team
the country can be proud of while also revealing that Super
Eagles assistant coach Salisu Yusuf and Technical Director
of the NFF Shuaibu Amodu will handle affairs of the team
before a suitable replacement is found.
“In the interim, the Super Eagles’ team affairs will be jointly
managed by Assistant Coach Salisu Yusuf and the Technical
Directorate of the NFF, headed by Coach Shuaibu Amodu,
until the Federation names in due course a new Head
Coach, who, along with the NFF will chart a new direction
for the Super Eagles to ensure credible participation in
international competitions and assist in building a
sustainable football culture for the country,” said
Akinwunmi.
The 53-year-old was into his second spell as the Super
Eagles coach after holding the reigns from 2011.
He won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with the Super
Eagles but has been on a battle lane with the federation
since then.