Who pays Nigeria’s $125, 000 fine?
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- Written by Orkula Shaagee
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Who pays the 125, 000 dollars fine imposed on the country for dumping the Hampshire Hotel after initially picking it?
These and many others are the posers begging for answers as Nigerians and followers of the nation’s football seek clear answers on the issue that has further placed a question mark on the nation’s credibility.
Sports Minister, Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, two weeks ago led a delegation to South Africa to inspect the New Hampshire Hotel in Balito, near Durban, following persistent reports that it was sub-standard.
In spite of the media reports, the NFF had insisted that the hotel was good but Bio discovered the inadequacies of the hotel, leading to its cancellation.
The delegation opted for the Protea Waterfront Hotel in Richards Bay, and the change cost Nigeria 125,000 dollars in penalty for breaching its arrangement with hotel management.
The concern of Nigerians stem from the fact that an un-budgeted 125, 000 dollars will be allocated to the NFF from the Federation’s account to settle the fine, even as other sectors of the nation’s economy suffer financial difficulties.
Wednesday’s reaction by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that Super Eagles Media Officer Peterside Idah and former Super Eagles Coach Shaibu Amodu share the blame for the lapses, was to many unacceptable.
The NFF reaction came few days after FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke declared that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials chose the cancelled hotel as the team’s base camp for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and should be blamed for it.
Valcke had said “I am amazed when I see reports that give the feeling that we were responsible when Nigeria was responsible for doing the wrong choice; I want to make it clear that the first choice was made by Nigeria based on a hotel that was not even part of our list.
“They chose a hotel which was not an official hotel signed or determined by FIFA and then they complained after and now they have booked a FIFA hotel or Match hotel or whatever you want to call it”.
Nigerians condemning the action noted that the NFF officials aside from making series of visits to the camp site, also gave the venue pass mark.
NFF General Secretary, Bolaji Ojo-Oba in a statement in Abuja, blamed Amodu and Idah, whom he said were sent to pick a good venue for team that would be cost-effective.
He also insisted that the decision to go for Hampshire was taken in the best interest of the nation and to satisfy the then Head Coach, and also based on experience at a previous tournament.
“It is unfortunate that the whole thing is now being made to look like the NFF had any motive other than the team’s best interest. We believed, and still believe, that the Head Coach is best-placed to determine the best possible site for his team to train or use as abode for a tournament, and in this case, at the time we were looking for a Team Base Camp in December 2009, that Head Coach was Shaibu Amodu.
“Really, we gave him a mandate to look out for somewhere good enough for the team and which cost would not be exactly on the steep side, fully aware of our financial situation. He went in search of this place with Mr. Peterside Idah, a former Nigerian international player who is also a member of the team’s technical crew and who lives in South Africa. We expected them to be capable of choosing a place good enough, at considerable prize.
“We sent other officials there and the hotel management confirmed the same thing, and it was on this basis that we approached FIFA to approve the place for us since our Head Coach wanted the place.
Ojo-Oba who denied any foul play in the whole exercise, challenged anybody with proof of foul play in the deal to come up with it.
But the House of Representatives Committee on Sports has promised to dig deep into the matter and expose the evils and those involved in it.
The Committee has already summoned the NFF officials to explain the role of the Glass House in the fiasco that has further dragged the name of the country to the mud.
Committee member, Godfrey Gaiya stated in an interview that the NFF would be held accountable for the development and served a hint that the officials would soon be invited to defend themselves.
“I expected whoever was responsible to have gone to the place and be sure that it meets the standard expected for the boys. We should not take rash decisions like this. Nobody would be happy losing such money and our duty is to oversee everything and ensure nothing goes wrong.
“The sports committee of the house will definitely be interested and see what we can do to invite those who are involved and give an explanation to Nigerians,” he assured.
In his reaction, former Head of Professional League in the NFA Charles Ojugbana condemned the NFF for picking Hampshire as the Super Eagles camp, saying NFF President, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi and his board members should pay the $125,000 fine cancellation of the Eagles’ camp base.
“It is disappointing to note that the NFF officials picked such a place for the Super Eagles camp. The most annoying thing is the fact that the hotel is not among the venues approved by FIFA for the competition, and my candid opinion is that those responsible for this should be made to pay from their pockets”, Ojugbana said.
However, former Super Eagles attacker Barnabas Imenger cautioned against making an issue out of the Eagles World Cup camp site, saying the heat generated from issue could affect the team’s showing in South Africa next month, adding that the matter can be rested at the moment reviewed after the World Cup.
“We should not allow the issue of the team’s camp to distract or affect our preparation for the World Cup. There is need for us to put that in the cooler now and resurrect it after the World Cup so that the team will not be distracted”, Imenger urged.
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Who pays Nigeria’s $125, 000 fine?
Category: Sports Written by Orkula Shaagee Hits: 721
Will those who are responsible for the choice of Hampshire Hotel as venue for the Super Eagles camp at the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup be punished for the embarrassment and financial cost caused the country?Who pays the 125, 000 dollars fine imposed on the country for dumping the Hampshire Hotel after initially picking it?
These and many others are the posers begging for answers as Nigerians and followers of the nation’s football seek clear answers on the issue that has further placed a question mark on the nation’s credibility.
Sports Minister, Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, two weeks ago led a delegation to South Africa to inspect the New Hampshire Hotel in Balito, near Durban, following persistent reports that it was sub-standard.
In spite of the media reports, the NFF had insisted that the hotel was good but Bio discovered the inadequacies of the hotel, leading to its cancellation.
The delegation opted for the Protea Waterfront Hotel in Richards Bay, and the change cost Nigeria 125,000 dollars in penalty for breaching its arrangement with hotel management.
The concern of Nigerians stem from the fact that an un-budgeted 125, 000 dollars will be allocated to the NFF from the Federation’s account to settle the fine, even as other sectors of the nation’s economy suffer financial difficulties.
Wednesday’s reaction by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that Super Eagles Media Officer Peterside Idah and former Super Eagles Coach Shaibu Amodu share the blame for the lapses, was to many unacceptable.
The NFF reaction came few days after FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke declared that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials chose the cancelled hotel as the team’s base camp for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and should be blamed for it.
Valcke had said “I am amazed when I see reports that give the feeling that we were responsible when Nigeria was responsible for doing the wrong choice; I want to make it clear that the first choice was made by Nigeria based on a hotel that was not even part of our list.
“They chose a hotel which was not an official hotel signed or determined by FIFA and then they complained after and now they have booked a FIFA hotel or Match hotel or whatever you want to call it”.
Nigerians condemning the action noted that the NFF officials aside from making series of visits to the camp site, also gave the venue pass mark.
NFF General Secretary, Bolaji Ojo-Oba in a statement in Abuja, blamed Amodu and Idah, whom he said were sent to pick a good venue for team that would be cost-effective.
He also insisted that the decision to go for Hampshire was taken in the best interest of the nation and to satisfy the then Head Coach, and also based on experience at a previous tournament.
“It is unfortunate that the whole thing is now being made to look like the NFF had any motive other than the team’s best interest. We believed, and still believe, that the Head Coach is best-placed to determine the best possible site for his team to train or use as abode for a tournament, and in this case, at the time we were looking for a Team Base Camp in December 2009, that Head Coach was Shaibu Amodu.
“Really, we gave him a mandate to look out for somewhere good enough for the team and which cost would not be exactly on the steep side, fully aware of our financial situation. He went in search of this place with Mr. Peterside Idah, a former Nigerian international player who is also a member of the team’s technical crew and who lives in South Africa. We expected them to be capable of choosing a place good enough, at considerable prize.
“We sent other officials there and the hotel management confirmed the same thing, and it was on this basis that we approached FIFA to approve the place for us since our Head Coach wanted the place.
Ojo-Oba who denied any foul play in the whole exercise, challenged anybody with proof of foul play in the deal to come up with it.
But the House of Representatives Committee on Sports has promised to dig deep into the matter and expose the evils and those involved in it.
The Committee has already summoned the NFF officials to explain the role of the Glass House in the fiasco that has further dragged the name of the country to the mud.
Committee member, Godfrey Gaiya stated in an interview that the NFF would be held accountable for the development and served a hint that the officials would soon be invited to defend themselves.
“I expected whoever was responsible to have gone to the place and be sure that it meets the standard expected for the boys. We should not take rash decisions like this. Nobody would be happy losing such money and our duty is to oversee everything and ensure nothing goes wrong.
“The sports committee of the house will definitely be interested and see what we can do to invite those who are involved and give an explanation to Nigerians,” he assured.
In his reaction, former Head of Professional League in the NFA Charles Ojugbana condemned the NFF for picking Hampshire as the Super Eagles camp, saying NFF President, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi and his board members should pay the $125,000 fine cancellation of the Eagles’ camp base.
“It is disappointing to note that the NFF officials picked such a place for the Super Eagles camp. The most annoying thing is the fact that the hotel is not among the venues approved by FIFA for the competition, and my candid opinion is that those responsible for this should be made to pay from their pockets”, Ojugbana said.
However, former Super Eagles attacker Barnabas Imenger cautioned against making an issue out of the Eagles World Cup camp site, saying the heat generated from issue could affect the team’s showing in South Africa next month, adding that the matter can be rested at the moment reviewed after the World Cup.
“We should not allow the issue of the team’s camp to distract or affect our preparation for the World Cup. There is need for us to put that in the cooler now and resurrect it after the World Cup so that the team will not be distracted”, Imenger urged.