Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has stepped forward with a personal pledge to cover outstanding player bonuses at AFCON 2025, even as the Federal Government confirmed that all approved funds are already being processed for payment.
The intervention comes amid growing concern within the Nigerian camp over delayed bonuses following victories against Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Mozambique, with the situation threatening to distract the team ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final clash against Algeria.
According to journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, Ndidi urged his teammates to remain focused on preparations and avoid any action that could derail Nigeria’s title push.
“I’ve been pushing the team to train and play the game against Algeria. I’ve been doing this since the second game,” Ndidi said.
“I’ve now made a commitment to the staff and players that I’ll personally pay the bonuses if the authorities fail to do so before Saturday. I don’t want unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations.”
Ndidi celebrating with his teammates. Photo Credit: Imago
Earlier on Thursday, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, moved to reassure the players, confirming that the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had resolved foreign exchange and administrative bottlenecks.
“The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have successfully streamlined the foreign exchange processing to ensure our players are rewarded without further delay,” she said.
Dr Uzoka-Anite added that all group-stage bonuses had been fully released, with the final payments to players domiciliary accounts already underway.
“The final disbursements are currently in flight. Players can expect these funds to reflect starting today or tomorrow,” she said.
Photo Credit: Imago
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), National Sports Commission (NSC) chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko stressed that funding was never the issue, revealing that President Bola Tinubu approved Nigeria’s entire AFCON 2025 budget as far back as November.
“The president approved the entire AFCON budget on Nov. 14, 2025. From our end, the funding has been fully cleared,” Dikko said.
He explained that the delay was due to the difference between approval and actual disbursement.
“Approving the money is one thing, processing it is another, but the players know the funds have been approved,” he added.
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Dikko also disclosed that the NSC held meetings with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the team captain, co-captain and senior players to agree on bonus structures for every stage of the tournament.
“We sat down, negotiated and agreed on what the players are entitled to up to the final. Everybody is clear,” he said.
Nigeria have won all their matches at AFCON 2025 so far, scoring 12 goals on their way to the quarter-finals.
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The Super Eagles are set to face Algeria for a place in the semi-finals and today arrived Marrakech ahead of Saturday’s match at the Stade de Marrakech.
