The Nigeria Football Federation has stated that Lille of France goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has not notified the federation of his decision to quit the national team. The 101 capped goalkeeper retired from the Super Eagles on Thursday just after a row with the Nigeria manager Sunday Oliseh. The NFF’s Assistant Director of Information, Ademola Olajire said:
“He didn’t inform the NFF before and hasn’t as we speak. We got to know through the same channel like any other person. A meeting was scheduled the NFF president (Pinnick) but he left before the president got to the camp.”
The NFF has ruled out trying to persuade goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to return the Super Eagles. Enyeama on his Instagram page on Thursday said he had decided to retire from the national team after 13 years of service. Olajire was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria as saying on Thursday:
“We heard about his quitting the national team on his Instagram page. If somebody says he is retiring from the national team, what are we going to do, to beg him? We don’t know if he is leaving the national team because of his quarrel with the coach (Sunday Oliseh).
He just wrote on his Intagram page that he was leaving the national team. So, why should we be finding out whether he left because of the rift? The player has gone out of the camp, what do you want us to do. He has left the camp and he did not tell anybody that he was leaving.”
France-based keeper Enyeama quarrelled with Oliseh in Belgium on Tuesday after the Eagles manager decided to the strip him of the team’s captaincy in favour of Ahmed Musa. Enyeama had reported late to camp for the Eagles’ friendly games against DR Congo and Cameroon, after staying back in Nigeria last weekend to be involved in the burial of his mother in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.