Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state and his Delta state counterpart reward victorious Super Eagles of Nigeria
By Correspondent Chinyere Ogbonna – More state government and well-meaning Nigerians have continued to reward the Victorious Super Eagles of Nigeria for their impressive outing at the just concluded AFCON 2013 in South Africa.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan playing host coach Steven Keshi and his team
One of such is the Lagos state Governor Babatunde Fashola who showered the team, technical crew and the supporters club
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola Friday showered a whopping sum of fifty-nine million naira (N59million) on the victorious Supper Eagles for their exploits at the just-concluded African Cup of Nations tagged AFCON 2013 in South Africa.
A breakdown of the figures shows that the Chief Coach of the team, Stephen Keshi, got the sum of two point five million naira (N2.5 million), while his immediate assistant, Daniel Amokachi, got two million naira (N2 million) and captain of the team, Joseph Yobo, one point five million naira(N1.5 million).
Four other assistant coaches got the sum of one point five million naira each (N1.5 million).
The twenty-two members of the team got the sum of one million naira each (N1million) and five hundred thousand naira per goal (N500, 000) for each of the eleven goals they scored during the tournament, while fifteen million naira was donated to the backroom staff of the Super Eagles.
Governor Babatunde Fashola, his Deputy Adejoke Orelope-Adefulure with members of Super Eagles
The Rauf Oladipo-led Supporters’ Club of Nigeria also got (N4.5 million, bringing the sum total to fifty-nine million naira.
Speaking at the reception held for the team at State House, Alausa, Lagos, Governor Fashola said the donation was the state government’s ‘token ‘in appreciation of the team’s exploits and for doing the country proud in South Africa, which has brought the country back into reckoning in world football.
He however cautioned them against complacency, urging them and sports administrators to sustain the momentum and strive towards greater success.
Fashola said: “Now that we have won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy, the question to ask is what next? We have Kenya to contend with in a few days.
“Let us remind ourselves that Zambia, the immediate defending champions of the tournament, did not make it to the second round.
Governor Fashola who is a football enthusiast, harped on upgrading the local league and grassroots football, both of which he stated has the potential of impacting on Nigeria’s performance in international competitions.
He attributed their success to the Nigerian spirit, which he said must be rekindled.
The Governor urged sport officials to desist from undue interference with national teams, especially in the affairs of coaching and team selection, which he said had undermined the successes of national teams in competitions.
“Everybody in Nigeria today is a football expert. Let us respect those we have employed to do this job. If we think that they can’t do it, let us set time line and change them and I think that the practice where people badge into the dressing room and have time with officials uninvited should stop” “The NFF should do more in this respect. The era of Keshi should do this, Keshi should do that by those who have never kicked football should stop.” he counseled.
In a related development, the Chief Coach of the victorious Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, was Thursday rewarded with a building by the Delta State Government for leading the nation’s senior football team to the African Nation Cup glory.
Governor of Delta state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who announced this while playing host to players and officials of the national team in Asaba, said the state government has allocated a plot of land to Keshi and also promised to put up a befitting structure for the undisputed Africa’s number one coach of the moment.
The governor while thanking President Goodluck Jonathan for giving Delta state the opportunity to host the victorious Super Eagles, charged sport heroes to give back to the society through mentoring programmes and development of sporting talents of the teeming youths of the country.
He said it was also important for the youth to have mentors to enable them to channel their talents positively.
“The state government is working out a programme to ensure that our sporting heroes help mentor our younger ones to become great sportsmen.” The governor enjoined all sporting heroes to key into the programme to enable to the state achieve its dream and maintain its top position in sports in the country. “Sports is one of the key points in the actualization of the Delta beyond oil policy and the state will continue to support sports to enable the youths utilize their skills.”
Governor Uduaghan who congratulated the team for winning the championship, Dr. commended the Chief Coach, Keshi for his resilience and patience in giving his best even when people doubted the ability of the team to deliver.
The governor promised the state government’s unflinching support for the team and prayed that the team would continue to excel in all their future competitions.
On his part, the Chief Coach of the Supper Eagles, Keshi expressed his gratitude to Nigerians for their support throughout the AFCON competition.
He stated that his goal at the championship was to bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians; and promised that his team would continue to improve and ensure that Nigeria takes its pride of place in the African football map.
In a remark, the Chairman, Delta State Sports Commission, Mr. Amaju Pinnick informed the gathering that Nigeria now ranked 30th in the recently released FIFA ranking. He said that the victorious Super Eagles would serve as role models for the younger ones and would represent the mentoring spirit advocated by Governor Uduaghan at the sports summit held in Asaba.
