The Nigeria Football Federation has reacted to the comments of   Adokiye Amiesimaka on the Eagles and said they would not rescind their decision to downsize Eagles backroom staff.

Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, Chief Emeka Inyama, said “For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigeria Football Federation and Coach Stephen Keshi are working together to see that Nigeria qualifies for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, and we have no doubt that we are on course to get the ticket.

“A few days ago, Keshi himself issued a statement to say he was not resigning and that he is working together with the NFF to realize his targets and fulfill his mission.

“We have said it several times that we do not plan to hire an expatriate Coach. That is not in our plans for now. We are sticking by Keshi as we have done since November 2, 2011 when we signed a contract
with him. We believed in Keshi and have given him all the necessary support and encouragement to succeed, and will continue to do so.”

The NFF Executive Committee member noted that the present administration is the first to stick to indigenous Coaches for all the national teams, for which it has received praise severally at home and abroad.

“For someone like Amiesimaka to claim that the NFF is not happy that Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations is odious. Very disappointing.

The NFF shares in the glory of the triumph as much as Keshi.”
Inyama dismissed Amiesimaka’s comments about the NFF’s decision to audit staff of the National Teams, especially backroom staff.

“The former player should tell us how many backroom staff were in the senior national team when he was playing. It is beneath an Amiesimaka to state that NFF is envious of coaches and backroom staff that it employed. That is unbelievably cheap.

“The NFF has decided to downsize in several areas in order to be able to meet our obligations of presenting the national teams for international competitions. We do not owe any of the coaches or
backroom staff any apology over this. There is no going back on this, .

“How much were Coaches earning when Amiesimaka was playing? Today, Mr. Keshi is on N5million-a-month salary.  Apart from the huge pay for the coaches, we also need to service actual development of the game.”
Inyama made it clear that the NFF is resolved to ensuring better results at international level for all the National Teams.