By Amosu Adeboye, LAGOS
The Nigeria Football Federation has placed the mothers of late ex-internationals, Samuel Okwaraji and Rashidi Yekini on a monthly stipend of N30, 000, each.
Sports minister, Sunday Dare announced on Thursday that the ministry has placed the two matriarchs, on a monthly stipend of N10,000 each.
The NFF in appreciation of Dare’s gesture has now decided to support the noble initiative and also review the situation of surviving mothers of ex-internationals that died in active service for the country.
“In furtherance to, and in appreciation of, the recent pronouncement of the HM Sports @SundayDareSD to put the mothers of late ex-internationals Sam Okwaraji and Rashidi Yekini on a monthly stipend, the NFF has decided to support this noble initiative with a further monthly stipend of N30k to each of the matriarchs,” reads a tweet on the NFF’s Twitter handle on Thursday.
” In addition, the NFF will henceforth review the situation of surviving mothers of our ex-internationals that died in active service for the country and resolve what to do for them on a monthly basis.”
Late Yekini who died eight years ago in Ibadan after retiring from active football, had a career that spanned more than two decades and was mainly associated with Vitoria de Setubal in Portugal, but he also played in six other foreign countries.
Yekini scored 37 goals for Nigeria from 58 games and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including two World Cups where he scored the country’s first-ever goal in the competition against Bulgaria in the USA 94 World Cup.
He was also named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993.
Okwaraji collapsed ten minutes from the end of a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Angola in Lagos. He died from possible complications of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as an autopsy showed that the 25-year-old had an enlarged heart and high blood pressure.
He was capped eight times by Nigeria and scored one goal.
