Crisis deepens in NBBF as a minute faction of outgone board holds meeting after tenure expiry

By Maxwell Kumoye 

 

The leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) deepened on Sunday, March 1, 2026, as Engineer Musa Kida convened a board meeting weeks after the board’s tenure officially expired.

Kida, president of the outgone board, met with five other former members in Lagos.

However, eight former board members declined to attend, insisting that the board’s tenure ended on January 31, 2026, in line with the NBBF constitution.

The development follows a stakeholders’ meeting earlier convened by the National Sports Commission (NSC), where a joint decision was reached giving Kida a window to call a board meeting to organise Congress before the expiration of the board’s tenure. 

This impromptu Sunday meeting, stakeholders said, was not called before the January 31st, 2026 deadline.

On February 1, the NBBF Congress wrote to FIBA, requesting that the international body permit the NSC to intervene in order to avert what they described as a looming constitutional crisis within the Federation.

Some former board members and stakeholders described Sunday’s meeting as unnecessary, arguing that it lacked legitimacy since the tenure of the board had already lapsed. 

Efforts were made to persuade Professor Musa Yakasai, who had previously resigned from the NBBF board following his election into the Nigeria Boxing Federation, to attend the meeting in order to increase the number of participants against the provisions of the NBBF Constitution and the Nigerian Sports code of ethics which forbids an individual to be a member of two Federations at the same time.  

As deduced from a hap hazed communique, discussions at the meeting focused largely on upcoming international competitions and the prospect of new sponsorship deals. 

Particular reference was made to a sponsorship arrangement reportedly reached in December between the NBBF and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), where Kida serves as Non-Executive Chairman. 

Some stakeholders have clearly stated that details of that purported agreement were never made known to the then NBBF Board members during their tenure. 

There were also allegations that previous sponsorship funds from corporate partners, which include Zenith Bank, Executive Jet (XJET), Adidas and Bullet Energy Drink, were not disclosed to the entire board and no official financial report was made public on the matter.

The crisis further intensified following remarks attributed to Ugo Udezue, former Head of the Marketing Committee, who reportedly stated during a television interview that the constitution does not specify term limits for board members, aside from death, criminal conviction, or bankruptcy which in effect is unreasonable. This interpretation has been disputed by all stakeholders.

Moreover, like the proverbial Ostrich that buries its head in the sand, the Sunday Board meeting did not address the issue of tenure expiration, tenure elongation or third term bid and also completely failed to address the issue of domestic basketball which is at the core of burning issues affecting Nigerian basketball.  

As the dispute continues, attention is now focused on the response of both the NSC and FIBA, amid concerns that prolonged instability could affect the administration of basketball in Nigeria.