NFF, Enyeama head for showdown

Captain and goalkeeper of Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, Vincent Enyeama may be heading for a showdown with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over as query issued to the goal tender.

Enyeama reportedly tore a query issued him by the NFF over his comments about the safety of Kaduna to host last Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad.

It has been learnt that the Lille goalkeeper tore the letter issued him right before two top NFF officials. His matter, it was learnt, has now been transferred to the NFF disciplinary committee for further investigation.

It was not possible to speak with Enyeama concerning the incident but a former Nigeria international Garba Lawal confirmed the development.

He said, “I’m aware of that (Enyeama’s action). The Secretary of the federation told me. Who is Vincent Enyeama? This football we also played. Even if you are not going to answer a query, you can just hold it to yourself. I think that is very disrespectful.”

The France-based goalkeeper was quoted as saying that Kaduna was not safe enough to host such a match. The statement generated a lot of reactions with the NFF issuing a strongly worded statement afterwards.

NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, said, “Kaduna State has always been a perfect ground for all national teams, and a city in love with football. We are excited anytime we bring a match of the national team to Kaduna, because we are always sure of massive support for our team.”

Also, there is confusion over a said query issued to the Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, by the NFF. An online medium had reported that the NFF also queried Keshi after the one given to Enyeama over issues surrounding Eagles’ AFCON qualifier against Chad on Saturday.

But chairman of the NFF Technical Committee Chief Felix Anyasi-Agwu said that the query issued to Enyeama was purely administrative and should not be interpreted as an indictment.

He said, “Yes, Enyeama got a query but it is not true about Keshi. I hope that Nigerians will just let Keshi be so that he can face his job squarely.

“As for Vincent, the statement credited to him about the venue was quite political rather than having anything to do with sports. The query is to enable us to hear his side of the story and be certain of exactly what he said. He could have been quoted out of context and so it is just an opportunity to set the record right.”

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