A board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Nse Essien, has disclosed that the federation lacks the financial capacity to pay the compensatory fees of Super Eagles Head Coach Jose Peseiro if he were to be relieved of his duties.
The Portuguese coach has faced mounting pressure following consecutive draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their World Cup qualifying matches.
Despite widespread calls for Peseiro’s dismissal, Essien, while speaking in a post-match interview, emphasized the NFF’s financial constraints, saying, “If you check the internet, almost everyone is asking for the sack of the head coach. It is unfortunate that out of six points, we have just two and we have found ourselves in a precarious situation.
“When you say NFF should sack the Head coach we didn’t employ him, this regime didn’t employ him when you come to look at it it was the Sports Ministry that employed him,” he stated after the draw against Zimbabwe.
In September, the 63-year-old had his stay on the job extended after a renegotiated pay of $50,000 contract from $70,000 was reached.
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But Essien revealed that Peseiro had not been paid his salary and they have no other choice than to respect his contract.
“Up till now, we were supposed to have paid their salaries, up till now they have not paid a dime,” he revealed.
“Who pays for compensation that is the situation we find ourselves in not a dime has been paid to this coach who earns about $70,000 every month.
“We have to respect Jose Peseiro’s contract. If we had the money to give to him (pay him off) we are going to relieve him. We are not happy,” he concluded.