By Steve Oma-Ofozor / Lagos
Pascal Patrick and Stephen Keshi
Erstwhile chairman, Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi, Patrick Pascal, has decried the salary row between Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, and his employers, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), which recently made media headlines.
In an exclusive phone interview with Sports Week, the ex-Super Eagles star affirmed that the Super Eagles gaffer, as an employee of the NFF, should create an atmosphere for a peaceful resolution of the matter rather than taking it to the press.
According to the former Shooting Stars of Ibadan ace, "I feel so sad that issue of salary in any organisation that should be bureaucratically handled has now become a public affair between Keshi and the NFF who are his employers.
"In all sincerity, I don't think that NFF will have the money and would not want to pay. The fact that NFF presently is facing financial crisis is no news.
"Keshi can attest to that fact which is the reason the players' match bonus has to be slashed and pegged at $5,000.
"The NFF has a whole lot of issues to handle apart from the Super Eagles, the Golden Eaglets, Falcons and others are there to take care of.
"I'm not by this saying he should not be paid his due, but he is a stakeholder and at his level he should not be the one creating this type of scene that has even taken an international dimension, given the power of the media.
"Think of the negative effect on the players and the image of the Nigeria. It's sad. Keshi, since coming on board, has enjoyed and benefited what previous local coaches could not imagine in their time; he should show some understanding and maturity."
However, the salary row, according to reports, has irked the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdullahi, who has issued the NFF a query signed by the Director General of the NSC, Gbenga Elegbelye, on October 24, 2013.
The query, reports say, demands reason within 24 hours for the seven months' salary owed Keshi and the other technical crew members.
