Rohr Debunks Rejection of Accommodation Claim

Keno Edhowo

Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, has reacted to news making the rounds that he rejected the accommodation given to him by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), for his stay in Nigeria.

Rohr, who managed the senior national team for the first time in a 1-0 home win against Tanzania earlier this month expressed displeasure at the way people are using his openness and easy accessibility to quote him out of context and attempt to derail him from the core assignment he has at hand.

“I never rejected any apartment,” he said. “I might have spoken to a few people who I believed to be genuinely interested in me, saying that the apartment was very big and I joked that I might get lost inside it when I start to live there, but I never rejected it.

“When the Federation engaged me, and told me I had to live in Nigeria, I agreed to it because I believed that my base has to be in the country where I work. I did the same in Niger, Burkina Faso and Gabon, and I do not see it any differently in Nigeria,” Rohr added in a statement.

The Franco-German stated further: “The Federation moved to rent an apartment for me, and this is a good gesture that shows their commitment. If I have issues with it, it should be done directly through the Federation and not on the pages of the media.”

Rohr decried the habit of people trying to get close and then twisting his comments in order to make press news, and cautioned that it would not augur well for media relations if he has to close up in fear of being misquoted.