By Our Correspondent
Reports reaching the Nigerian basketball community indicate that moves are underway within the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to amend its Constitution to enable the current President to seek an unprecedented third-term in office, a move that directly contravenes Section 21.8 of the NBBF Constitution, which clearly provides that the President and Vice President may serve only two terms.
According to reliable sources, some State Directors of Sports and Chairmen of Basketball Associations are being mobilized to attend a purported constitutional review meeting in Port Harcourt or Abuja, where the amendment would be tabled and ratified to pave the way for a third term.
Stakeholders view this as a blatant and shameful violation of the same Constitution produced by all basketball stakeholders under the tenure of the current President, and which was duly adopted and deposited with the Ministry of Sports (present NSC), the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), and FIBA.
It will be recalled that in 2017, the same constitutional safeguard was applied to prevent former NBBF President Tijani Umar from seeking a third term, a decision upheld by the then Ministry of Sports, NOC, and FIBA, ensuring respect for institutional integrity within Nigerian basketball governance.
A basketball stakeholder based in Abuja, Mr. Alhassan Joseph (“Embargo”), condemned the alleged third-term bid, describing it as “an assault on the integrity of Nigerian basketball.” He stated:
> “Whoever is conniving with the current President to amend the Constitution to perpetuate himself in office because they believe he has the means to buy votes and conscience is an enemy of Nigerian basketball. Under this leadership, basketball in Nigeria has been crippled. The national league has not been organized in over seven years, local players have been abandoned, and the Board has become a one-man show. This must not be allowed to continue.”
Stakeholders further decried several acts of constitutional breach and administrative impunity under the current leadership, including the failure to convene the constitutionally required Annual General Meeting since 2022 and the refusal to hold quarterly Board meetings as stipulated. Reports also indicate that the last Board meeting in December 2024 lacked quorum, and minutes were not recorded.
Furthermore, the President allegedly removed two Board members, Mr. Scott Nnaji and Mr. Stanley Gumut, without due process, actions that the NBBF Constitution does not empower him to take. There are also serious concerns over the Federation’s failure to operate an official bank account for over eight years, raising questions about financial transparency and accountability.
Stakeholders note that the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) — which represents all National Federations to their International Federations — has formally notified the National Sports Commission that the next NBBF Elective Congress must hold in January 2026, in strict adherence with the NBBF Constitution.
By this timeline, the current President is ineligible to contest for another term. Ordinarily, the NBBF Board should by now have commenced preparations for elections by convening an Ordinary or Extra Ordinary AGM/ Congress to nominate Electoral and Appeals Committees for the Electoral process, set dates for the Elective Congress and review the Audited Financial Reports. The deliberate delay in doing so, stakeholders believe, is part of a calculated plot to manipulate the transition process.
Concerned members of the basketball family have vowed to resist any attempt to subvert the Constitution and undermine the collective will of the basketball stakeholders.
> “All teasonanle persons should know that having a national appointment or access to connections does not confer the right to manipulate the law or impose one’s self on the system,” said another stakeholder. “From the highest levels of governance in Nigeria, unconstitutional third term agendas have always failed — and this one will not be an exception.”
Stakeholders are therefore calling on the Ministry of Sports, the NOC, and FIBA to act swiftly to uphold the NBBF Constitution, protect the integrity of Nigerian basketball, and ensure that due process is followed toward a transparent and credible transition in January 2026.
