Sacked Super Eagles Coach Sampson Siasia has dragged the Board of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to an Abuja High Court for breaching the terms of his employment contract.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja during a telephone interview yesterday, Siasia gave reasons why he sued the NFF adding that the board breached the terms of his employment contract by not paying his salaries and allowances as and when due while he was still the National Team Coach.
Said he: “ The Board sacked me because the team did not qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup and that is alright, but they also breached the terms of my employment contract by not paying my salaries and allowances regularly. I am still being owed by NFF”.
NOT A LAUGHING MATTER – Siasia
When contacted over the matter Secretary General of NFF Musa Ahmadu said he could not yet speak on the matter until he briefed the Board about it.
However, he confirmed that the former Super Eagles handler was being owed salary arrears but promised he would be paid before the end of the year.
Nevertheless another source within the Football House who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed dismay over Siasia’s legal action which he claimed also raised the legal status of NFF as one of the issues to be determined by the Court.
But Siasia has denied ever challenging the status of the NFF in his suit but insisted that he went to court to enforce his rights within the context of the employment contract he signed with NFF.
But we also gathered that he challenged his sack by drawing the attention of the board to a clause in his contract that says “if the need arises for the termination of the contract by either of the parties there should be 30 days notification before the contract can be terminated.:
It would be recalled that Siasia was sacked last Friday by the NFF Board over the Super Eagles inability to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. A 2-2 draw by Guinea in Abuja marked end of the road for Siasia.
Guinea garnered 14 points to secure the only ticket of the group while Nigeria secured only 11 points to come second.
Vanguard Nigeria
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