Keshi calls new offer a 'slave contract', runs to Presidency (Must Read)

• Mark, Ubah, others intervene

Out-of-contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has reactivated his contacts in the corridors of power to force the Nigeria Football Federation to change the ‘obnoxious’ clauses in the contract it has offered him.
The NFF, last week, tabled a new deal before Keshi but clauses in the document are believed to be stringent. In the offer letter, NFF stated that the coach must be ready to work with its Technical Director and consortium of experts.
But Stephen Keshi says he has been offered a “slave contract” by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).The former Togo and Mali trainer has been out of contract since leading
the Super Eagles to a second round finish at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

In addition, he must work with a list of players which will be given to him by the Technical Department, and he should be ready to work with a Technical Adviser if the NFF feels he has not performed well. The contract also stated that the coach would maintain his N5 million salary but without official accommodation and car. He must also not be away from the country for more than 21 days in a year and must report to the NFF before accepting gifts or contracts from corporate bodies.
But according to our source, Keshi has considered the offer as a slave contract and has vowed to fight the soccer body. The source said that the coach has held a meeting with a powerful politician and his close friend, Ifeanyi Ubah, who is believed to have the ears of President Goodluck Jonathan. Ubah, our correspondent learnt, has been trying to speak with the President on the matter but he has not been suc-cessful due to Mr. President tight schedule. Ubah is the convener of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria that has been working for the re-election of the President and he is believed to enjoy favour from Jonathan.
The oil magnate has been a strong force behind Keshi, having masterminded the recall of the coach when he was sacked during the last AFCON qualifiers. The source said: “Keshi has said he was not going to accept the clauses in the offer and I can tell you that he has spoken about that to (NFF president) Amaju Pinnick in a brief meeting they had last weekend.
Although he has not officially responded to the offers but there are strong indications that he was not going to accept it. “Meanwhile, he is not ready to go down without a fight, he really wants the Eagles job and his backers have assured him that he will get it no matter what. The other day, I learnt that Keshi and (player’s agent) Friday Kujah were with Ubah and the politician has assured him that he would speak with Mr. President on the matter.
The Presidnet of the Senate, David Mark, has been briefed but he too has been busy but promised to intervene. “So, Mr. President might summon the NFF and the sports minister this week, if things work out according to plan.

The truth is that Mr President has not told the NFF to retain Keshi, in fact, there has not been any order from him concerning the coach because the agreement they had during the last meeting with him was that the coach should be allowed to see out the AFCON qualifiers and he may go if he fails but since the President has not spoken yet about this, it is difficult for the NFF to ask him to go and maybe that is why they came up with this contract,” the source said.
The deal, which is supposed to run from March 1, stipulates that Keshi must lead the Super Eagles to the semifinals of the 2016 African Nations Championships (Chan) and also the same stage at the 2017 Afcon.
Should Keshi fail to meet those targets, then the contract will be terminated at “the absolute discretion” of the NFF.

Keshi will also be paid the amount as monthly salary; five million naira (about $23 000), which is what he received during his first stint as Super Eagles coach from 2011 to 2014.