Sunday Dare, Minister of Sports and Youth Development on Thursday, denied sacking Gernort Rohr, the Super Eagles head coach, saying the Ministry will follow due process in determining the fate of the coach.
Dare who was speaking at the weekly Presidential Media briefing in Abuja said the Ministry was awaiting the report of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the employers of the Super Eagles head coach to make its final decision.
The minister who was responding to questions on the fate of the coach disclosed that his Ministry has demanded an in-depth report on the Franco-German’s performance index.
“ The NFF has been directed to as a matter of urgency to present Rohr’s report card to the ministry because we are interested in knowing how well or bad the coach has performed since he was given the task of leading the Super Eagles”
“Until the NFF presents the report of the performance of the coach to the ministry, there will not be a decision on whether to sack or allow him to continue on the job.
” I want to believe that everything should be done to ensure that the Super Eagles qualify for the World Cup. When the FIFA President visited President Muhammadu Buhari here, I recall he said “Mr. President, see you in Qatar”. In that word I stand. So I have instructed the NFF to bring an Assessment Report on coach Rohr”, Dare told journalists.
It will be recalled that the Super Eagles Coach was appointed in August 2016, with an extension signed in May 2020, and has come under intense criticisms following the Super Eagles’ poor performances in recent outings.
Read also: Gernot Rohr still remains Super Eagles coach- NFF
The minister’s comments came against the rumours that the leadership of the NFF may have resolved to sack the Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr.
Football enthusiasts had over the last few days lamented the performance of the Super Eagles as the team barely scraped through to the playoff round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier after a 1-1 home draw against the Blue Sharks of Cape on Tuesday.
The West Africans also lost 1-0 at home to the Central African Republic in the qualifiers. He led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup in Egypt.
Nigerian football enthusiasts fearing that their team may not scale through the forthcoming group stage to the Qatar 2020 World Cup finals, had demanded the immediate sack of the Coach
The Minister also revealed plans to revive the moribund National Sports Commission (NSC)
According to him, the bill to bring back NSC will soon be passed, pointing out that the ministry is working closely with the National Assembly (NASS) to get the NSC Bill passed without further delay.
Said he: “the return of NSC will soon be a reality. We are seriously working with the National Assembly on the Bill for the return of NSC and very soon that Bill will be passed into Law”.
Dare posited that Sporting Federations should be better managed under NSC so that the supervising ministry will focus on exercising its oversight functions.
Meanwhile, the Minister has praised himself for reviving the moribund Principal’s Cup which he said came back to life after 25 years in the cooler.
The reintroduction of the highly successful Principal’s Cup which had in the past produced national football icons like the late Stephen Keshi, Tarila Okoronwata, Paul Okoku and Dehinde Akinlatan among others have been a blessing.
