Keshi won’t accept ‘slave contract’ from NFF – Agent

With contract negotiations underway, representatives of the trainer have said that the 52-year-old will not tie himself into an unrewarding contract

EXCLUSIVE
By Okeowo Destiny and Sam Praise
Representatives of coach Stephen Keshi have said that the 52-year-old will not be accepting peanuts in order to return to his role as Nigeria coach which he left after his contract expired at the end of the World Cup.
Keshi led Nigeria to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa as well as second round at the World Cup in Brazil this June.
In a communiqué on Tuesday, the NFF said that they were close to reaching an agreement with him and he is expected to sign a new contract “in a matter of days”.
However, his agents have told SPORTMASTA that they will not be pushed into accepting terms that are beneath the worth of the 52-yeard-old.
Keshi’s media assistant, Emmanuel Ado and lawyer, Francis Kozah went into a meeting with the NFF on Wednesday afternoon in Abuja, hoping to agree terms so that the trainer can return to the job ahead of the Super Eagles’ 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month.
In his previous contract, Keshi was paid 5million Naira monthly ($30,892) with media reports claiming that he has insisted on a new contract worth between 10million and 15million Naira ($61,784 - $ 92,677) monthly.
Ado told SPORTMASTA: “We are ready for give and take, but not a slave contract. We will not sign a slave contract that does not take care of [Keshi’s] interest.
“You media [don’t even know the worth of the coach], I will surprise you. Keshi is bigger than 10million Naira. Keshi is not a 5million or 10million Naira coach and he will not sign a contract of such value.
“A club in Angola has offered Keshi a monthly salary of $120,000 (19.4million Naira) recently but he has not taken it. So what is 5million or 10million Naira to him,” Ado asked.
NFF spokesman Ademola Olajire told SPORTMASTA that he is confident that the two parties will reach an agreement eventually.
“Keshi has not told us anything around 15 million Naira, I don’t know where this is coming from. I’m not a part of the small panel put together to speak to him but I know that there’s nothing like 15 million,” Olajire said.
“We have no doubt that we are going to come to a mutual agreement which is what the committee has been mandated to present but I will not be able to go into any details about the terms and conditions.
“But having given us a written expression of interest, Mr Keshi is definitely desirous of retaining the position of head coach of the Super Eagles and will be able to come down to the level of the NFF, realizing of course that we are not a multi-billionaire organization,” he said.