The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied claims that it owed the late Christian Chukwu up until his death on Saturday.
Responding to reports that the Federation owed Chukwu the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, stated that there is no record of such debt and challenged anyone with credible evidence to come forward:
“There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu. During the first term of the Board headed by Mr. Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently review the documents of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given a clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of his post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
“As a credible organization 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.”
Christian Chukwu, who died on Saturday in his hometown of Enugu, captained the Super Eagles of Nigeria to their first AFCON title in 1980 and coached the team from 2002 to 2005.
