Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Stephen Keshi insists he wants no other assistant other than Sylvanus Okpalla former assistant coach of the Super Eagles who was sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation after the Eagles won the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Okpalla, an ex-international was disengaged after the Nations Cup in South Africa. Then, NFF said it was due to the large backroom staff they had and that they needed to downsize. Just recently when Keshi insisted on the recall of Okpalla the reason changed to ‘’gross insubordination’’.
As the NFF seeks to employ an assistant coach that would add value to the Eagles bench during the Brazil World Cup, embattled Keshi insists that he wants Okpalla re-instated.
But a member of the Technical Committee, Paul Bassey stated yesterday that the issue of Okpalla coming back to the Eagles had been closed.
‘’The issue of Okpalla is closed because he was sacked for insubordination”, Bassey, an accomplished Journalist and a member of CAF and FIFA media Committee said.
When asked what the insubordination was that made them sack Okpalla? “Okpalla was said to have reported NFF President Aminu Maigari to the then Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Dr Patrick Ekeji and the Board did not like that one bit’’, Bassey retorted without explaining why and what made Okpalla report Maigari to Ekeji.
It was learned that Okpalla told Ekeji that their bonuses and allowances had been slashed without reason. Ekeji felt that such actions could jeopardise Nigeria’s chances of winning the Nations Cup and directed NFF to restore their allowances. Maigari took offence and has not forgiven Okpalla since then.
