According to New Castle Manager Alan Pardew, Nigerian-born  Shola Ameobi will not be going with Nigeria to the African Cup of Nations which is coming up on the 19^th of next month.

The Newcastle  striker once played for the England Under-21 side, and 10 years later, he was cleared by FIFA to play for Nigeria along with Chelsea FC winger Victor Moses. Following his debut appearance in the friendly game against Venezuela last month, the 31-year-old was named in Nigeria’s provisional squad by Coach Stephen Keshi for AFCON 2013.

Pardew has however ruled out Ameobi’s appearance at the tournament and insists the player is needed for the English Premier League campaign.

"Shola won't be going to that, and the national team manager knows the reasons behind that, which I am going to keep to myself," said Pardew.

Ameobi scored the winning goal in Newcastle's 1-0 win over QPR on Saturday after making his Nigeria debut in a 3-1 friendly win over Venezuela last month.

Nigeria will take on African champions Zambia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso in Group C.