Nigeria Football Federation may have to continue their search for bailout funds to settle the salary arrears of Franco-German manager, Gernot Rohr, as the sports ministry has refused to yield to pressure from the federation to help sort the payment of the Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr for his three month's salary out.
Rohr, who took over the then vacant managerial role, was linked with several vacant coaching posts across the continent, before he was snapped up by the NFF in August last year.
The federation had clearly stated they would not struggle to foot the bills of an in-coming foreign coach, because they had firms who had agreed to support them financially.
But the football federation have been struggling to pay the Franco-German manager after the anonymous sponsors pulled out of their deal with them over the leadership crisis that rocked the body last year.
A Punch correspondent learnt the NFF approached the sports minister Solomon Dalung recently to help save the country from the embarrassment of not being able to pay Rohr, but the minister allegedly rebuffed the plea to help resolve Rohr's salary issue.
It was further added that the honourable minister reminded the NFF leadership that he told them before Rohr's employment that the ministry was against the idea because of its financial implications.
It was learnt that the NFF had been unable to secure sponsorship to fund Rohr's salary as the companies they approached baulked at the idea, citing the current economic recession in the country.
Dalung's Media Adviser Nneka Anibeze told Punch's correspondent that the ministry was not in a position to help the NFF because of its own financial challenges.
She denied that the minister had abandoned the NFF to their fate, promising that the minister would intervene when funds are available to the ministry.
"The NFF should not be having problems paying the coach because they told the minister that they had secured sponsorship for his salary," Anibeze told Punch's correspondent on the telephone on Wednesday.
"Those saying that the minister has abandoned the NFF are not being fair on him (Dalung) because he told them that the ministry won't be able to pay a foreign coach."