By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, has attributed the delay in the payment of bonuses to the Super Eagles at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Dikko spoke on Thursday after reports emerged that players of the Nigeria threatened to boycott their AFCON quarter-final clash against Algeria over unpaid bonuses.
According to the NSC chairman, the funds have already been approved and released, but are still undergoing due process.
“The money has been released and is being processed,” Dikko said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He added: “The NFF, the Sports Commission, the Presidency, the Minister of Finance, and the CBN are all involved. Fundamentally, the money for this AFCON is approved and being processed through the right channels. It’s a matter of timing.”
He stressed that approval of funds does not automatically translate into immediate disbursement, explaining that multiple government institutions are involved in the process.
“Let me give you the timelines of how these issues work. First and foremost, I must tell you that Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, duly approved the special budget for the AFCON as far back as November 14, 2025,” Dikko said.
“But approving the money is different from getting the money out. It takes time for the funds to be processed through the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The Nation