I’ll go to war with you if Siasia’s salary is not paid, Dalung tells NFF

Solomon Dalung, minister of youth and sports development, has told Mohammed Sanusi, secretary-general of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF), that he will “go to war” with the federation if the outstanding five-month salary of Samson Siasia, coach of the U-23 team to the 2016 Olympics, is not paid.

Siasia, who won bronze in Rio, paid a courtesy visit to Dalung on Monday in Abuja to officially inform him that his contract with the NFF had expired.

“Please pay him his five months salaries,” Nneka Anibeze, Dalung’s media aide, quoted the minister as saying.

“They said he has resigned but he just said that his contract expired after the Olympics. His contract expired but you are owing him five months salaries and you have gone to employ a foreign coach and will pay him in dollars.

“It means you don’t like yourselves and nobody will sympathize with you. Please spare me the stress of talking about this salary issue or I am going to war with you on it.

“Please pay him and other coaches their outstanding salaries.”

Responding to the minister’s threat, Sanusi said efforts were already being made to pay the coaches their salaries.

“We have held meetings and we are waiting for the money to drop.”

“The money is already there in our account but we need to regularise the TSA procedures before we can claim the money. We are almost through with the process. Once that is concluded, we will pay them.”