Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has defended the choice of Joseph Yobo as assistant coach of the senior national team, amid a huge public outcry over his appointment last week.

The former captain, 39, replaces Imama Amapakabo and is expected to work with manager Gernot Rohr as third in command.

But some fans and a section of the local media have questioned the decision to appoint Yobo saying he ‘lacks the right qualifications’.

“The concept behind this is to nurture and condition former captain Joseph Yobo to provide leadership and mentorship for the young team,” Pinnick said.

“He has an incredible experience playing for some of Europe’s biggest clubs. He is one of our most-capped players ever and also won the Nations Cup.

“I believe that as Nigerians we have a chance to make a positive step forward and it’s important to give him the opportunity to succeed,” Pinnick told BBC Sport.

His country’s second most capped player, Yobo won the first of his 100 caps for Nigeria against Zambia in Chingola in 2001.