The Franco-German coach had his contract extended for another two and a half years after several months of negotiations with the football body.
Gernot Rohr deserved to continue as the coach of the Super Eagles having impressed in his role since taking charge nearly four years ago, says Sports Minister Sunday Dare.
The former Bordeaux manager was appointed as the Nigerian national team coach in August 2016.
He led Nigeria to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a game to spare and guided the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.
But many critics, including former internationals, believed Rohr had not done enough to deserve a contract extension.
However, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) handed the coach a new deal but not without introducing new terms in his contract.
The Sports Minister, however, backed the NFF’s decision to retain Rohr, insisting that the veteran gaffer deserved to be given the right of first refusal.
“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is statutorily in charge of the growth and development of football in Nigeria. Of course, under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth and Sports,” Mr Dare was quoted by the official NFF website.
“Even before I became Minister, there are processes and procedures that are followed when it comes to bringing on a new national coach or renewing the contract of a coach who is already in the house, and I think it was important for us to follow the processes and procedures in place.
“For Rohr, because he had been signed on earlier, he deserved to be given the right of first refusal, that was what the NFF did, and that was what I also allowed to happen.
“It is best practices, it is global practices, but the NFF also had a review of his performance in the last three to four years and based on that review, his new contract had new conditions that never existed before.
“Some of them bordering on the mode of payment, some of them bordering technical issues regarding the development of our football and that to me, is fundamental.”
Rohr’s new deal will see him stay in charge of the Super Eagles till December 2022.
