NFF Reacts to Reports It Owes Late Coach Christian Chukwu $128,000 in Wages
- The Nigeria Football Federation have reacted to widespread reports that they owe the late Christian Chukwu
- Chukwu passed away on Saturday at 74, and during the mourning, it emerged that he is owed by the NFF
- He managed the Super Eagles between 2003 and 2005, during which time he was owed $128,000 in wages
The Nigeria Football Federation have denied owing the late Christian Chukwu after reports emerged following his death that the federation owed him unpaid wages.
Nigeria’s first captain to lift the Africa Cup of Nations in the 1980 tournament on home soil passed away on Saturday, and tributes poured in for the Nigerian football legend.
Source: Getty Images
However, during the mourning, multiple reports resurfaced on social media, including fr.om BBC, which was published in 2008, alleging that the NFF owed the late manager $128,000 (₦205 million) in unpaid wages.
The report alleged that the debt had been owed since 2006, and despite persistent demands from the legendary defender, it was not paid until his death on Saturday.
The Chairman, as he was fondly referred to, coached the Super Eagles between 2003 and 2005 and led the team to a third-place finish at AFCON 2004 in Tunisia.
NFF deny owing Chukwu
The Nigeria Football Federation, in an official statement signed by the general secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, kicked against the widespread reports that they owe the former captain and coach unpaid wages.
Sanusi noted previous efforts to settle all debts owed.
“There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu,” the statement reads.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Mr. Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
The federation noted the duration of his employment as the head coach and when he was relieved but strongly denied owing him the said amount.
Source: Getty Images
Sanusi added that if anyone can provide concrete evidence of indebtedness to Chukwu or any other coach in the past two decades, the federation is ready to settle it immediately.
“As a credible organisation that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately,” he concluded.
Score Nigeria reported in January that the NFF also owed the current Super Eagles players as far back as 2019 but paid 10% in January ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
NFF pays tribute to Christian Chukwu
Legit.ng reported that the NFF paid tribute to Chukwu after the historic captain of the Nigerian national team sadly passed away on Saturday at the age of 74.
The federation also paid tribute to his 1980 AFCON-winning teammate Charles Bassey, who died on the same day, making nine members of the squad to have passed away.
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Source: Legit.ng
