Umeh Denies Statement On Okpala

The 1st Vice President of Nigeria Football Federation, Chief Mike Umeh, on Wednesday denied telling a national newspaper that the disengagement of Sylvanus Okpala as Assistant Coach of the Super Eagles was not discussed by the NFF Board.

“I did not discuss with anyone the issue of Sylvanus Okpala. It is wrong for anyone to say I said the issue was not discussed at the level of Executive Committee,” Umeh said on Wednesday.

Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, Chief Emeka Inyama affirmed that it is the prerogative of the NFF Executive Committee to hire and fire Coaches.

“Coaches are hired and fired almost every day, all over the world. Disengaging a coach or any member of a team’s technical/backroom staff is routine, and meetings can be either physical or virtual.

“People should not cause any disaffection within the NFF Executive Committee. We have explained to Nigerians that in view of the poor financial situation of the Federation, we are auditing staff of all the National Teams, and pegging bonuses and allowances.

“The rationalization is a continuous exercise. It is a pragmatic step to address the situation we are in and save funds so that we can prosecute our several programmes and activities this year.”