By Daily Sports Nigeria on January 9, 2026

Despite the Federal Government’s promise to pay the outstanding match bonuses of the Super Eagles at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between Thursday and Friday (today), captain Wilfred Ndidi said he has made a pledge to his teammates and officials that he would settle the bonuses if the government fails to pay before Saturday, when they will face Algeria in the quarter-finals, The PUNCH reports.

This comes just after the Federal Government, through the Office of the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, promised to fast-track the payments with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

While it appeared that the Federal Government’s response had weathered the storm of the alleged boycott of training that rocked the team on Wednesday, Ndidi raised the issue again on Thursday after the arrival of the team in Marrakech for Saturday’s crucial clash against Algeria.

In quotes relayed by BBC journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, Ndidi said he was trying to avoid any potential distraction from the bonus row, hence his commitment to pay his teammates and officials if the government does not fulfil its promise before the match.

“I’ve been pushing the team to train and play the game vs Algeria. I’ve been doing this since the second game. I’ve now made a commitment to the staff and players that I’ll personally pay the bonuses if the authorities fail to before Saturday,” Ndidi was quoted by Okeleji in an X post.

“I don’t want these unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations. I told players and coaching staff that I’d personally make the payments if they don’t get it,” he added.

The Super Eagles’ camp was rocked by reports of alleged plans by players and officials to boycott travel to Marrakech and training on Thursday over unpaid bonuses for their three group stage fixtures and the round of 16.

In response to the initial protest, the Minister of State for Finance, Uzoka-Anite, on Thursday provided an update on the administrative progress regarding the match bonuses, noting that group stage funds had been released and had cleared the necessary regulatory stages, while subsequent payments would no longer be affected by such delays.

“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,” the minister wrote on X.

“Going forward, the process will be fully streamlined to ensure faster, more predictable disbursements aligned with international best practice. All group stage bonuses were fully released and have now cleared the necessary regulatory stages.”

She further explained the new process for subsequent payments, which will ease the release of funds in the players’ preferred currency.

“We have implemented a fast-track conversion process to move funds into foreign currency, honouring the players’ preferences. The final transfers to domiciliary accounts are currently in flight. Players can expect these funds to reflect starting today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday).”

Regardless of the protest, Ndidi and his teammates arrived in Marrakech on Friday and held another training session ahead of Saturday’s clash against Algeria.

Nigeria and Algeria last met at the AFCON in the semi-finals of the 2019 edition, when the Desert Foxes beat the Super Eagles 2–1 courtesy of a stunning late free kick from Riyad Mahrez. Algeria went on to lift the trophy, claiming their second continental title.

At this tournament, the Eric Chelle-led team have won all four of their matches so far, beginning with a 2–1 win over Tanzania in their opening game. That was followed by a 3–2 victory over Tunisia and a 3–1 win against Uganda.

In the round of 16, Nigeria outclassed Mozambique 4–0 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Algeria.

Nigeria are chasing a fourth AFCON title in the North African country after previous triumphs in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

Source Punch Ng

Posted January 9, 2026

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