The Nigeria Football Federation says Enyimba and Super Eagles goalkeeper, John Noble, will soon be paid his $25,000 AFCON 2022 bonus, adding that banking procedures that delayed the payment had been completed, Tidesports source reports.
NFF’s Director of Media and Communications, Ademola Olajire, confirmed this to our correspondent in the wake of reports suggesting that the federation had banned the goalie from the national team after he resorted to the media to drive home his claims.
Noble’s unpaid bonus became a subject of interest after former GOAL Nigeria editor, Shina Oludare, demanded explanation from the NFF over the matter.
“Two months after 2021 AFCON, @NGSuperEagles players got $25,000 each as bonus. The only NPFL player in the team, John Noble, is yet to get his till date. NFF boss Ibrahim Gusau is aware & not keen to take action. Dear @thenff, Nigerians demand an explanation,” Oludare tweeted.
Oludare went further to fault a claim by Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, that Noble didn’t submit a domiciliary account for his payment.
“Dear @Ahmedmusa718, you told @osasuo that John Noble dropped a wrong dollar account and as such, he could not get his 25,000 dollars (Afcon 2021 bonuses). That is 100% false!  How  come he got his daily camp allowances (Afcon 2021) in that same account?”
NFF spokesman Olajire, however, insisted that issues with Noble’s dollar account caused the delay.
“There’s been a long delay as a result of him not having a dollar account, authorising payment to another person and glitches over paper work and CBN processes. I’m told they’ve concluded processing now,” Olajire told Tidesports source.
The NFF equally discredited claims that Noble had been blacklisted from future invitations to the national team, claiming there was no instruction of such from the federation.
John Noble was part of the Super Eagles squad to the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon where Nigeria crashed out in the knockout stage against Tunisia.