The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has said it will henceforth pay N30, 000 monthly to late Rasheed Yekini and Samuel Okwaraji’s mothers.
According to NFF, the 30,000 monthly stipends is to support the initiative of the minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, who had said that late Rasheed Yekini and Samuel Okwaraji’s mothers would soon begin to receive remuneration from the federal government.
“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 two matriarchs,” the NFF tweeted on Thursday.
The federation disclosed that it would also extend the same gesture to mothers of other ex-internationals who died in active service.
It stated, “In addition, the NFF will henceforth review the situation of surviving mothers of our ex-internationals who died in active service for the country and resolve what to do for them on monthly basis.”
Born on October 23, 1963, Yekini was Nigeria’ prolific striker who scored 37 goals for Nigeria in 58 appearances.
He was part of the team that participated in the 1994, scoring Nigeria’s first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria.
Yekini helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia where he also topped the goal charts and was named best player of the competition.
He died on May 4, 2102 at the age of 48.
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was born May 19, 1964.
He was also a qualified lawyer who had a Master’s degree in International Law from the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome.
He collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute of a World Cup qualification match against Angola at the Lagos National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State on 12 August 1989.
