Abuja (Nigeria), Dec 15 (IANS): Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate payment of all outstanding allowances and bonuses owed to the national women's football team, an official has said.

The presidential order came after the women's team on Wednesday staged a protest march here against the non-payment of their allowances by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), reports Xinhua.

The footballers, who won the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) for the eighth time in Cameroon, had initially refused to leave their rooms at the Agura Hotel here.

They had, upon returning from the competition which they won on December 3, been waiting for the payment at the hotel where they were accommodated by the NFF.

Finally, on Wednesday, they staged a protest march, carrying placards with inscriptions along the road between the National Assembly and the Secretariat gate of the Presidential Villa.

Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, told reporters here on Wednesday that the issue had been resolved.

He said the government had since directed appropriate authorities to settle the players' allowances and bonuses.

Kyari, who earlier spoke with the players on Wednesday during their protest march to the Aso Rock Villa gate, had urged them to return to their hotel rooms.

He had assured them that their outstanding payments would be settled within 24 hours.

The players, led by team captain Rita Chikwelu, had during the protest expressed their displeasure at the non-payment of their allowances and bonuses.