Group alerts sports minister over alleged plot to rig basketball federation polls

A group, the Northeast Basketball Federation Stakeholders has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by some individuals to impose candidates on the zone for the forthcoming polls into the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

The stakeholders, who called on the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, to investigate their claim and ensure a level-playing ground for all interested and qualified candidates for the NBBF polls, said allowing a few individuals to hijack the process will not augur well for the game.

In an open letter to the minister made available to The Guardian by Suleiman Saleh in Gombe State, the stakeholders alleged that some ministry staff and basketball association chairmen in the north east were scheming to impose the incumbent NBBF president, Tijani Umar from Bauchi State as their candidate for the polls.

They rejected Umar’s candidature, alleging his attitude to issues bothering on the lives and property of the associations and its members showed he lacked the capacity to lead the federation.

Excerpts from the letter reads: “Tijani Umar has spent good eight years as president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) but has not impacted any positive thing to the basketball game and players in the northeast

“Northeast was destroyed by Boko Haram – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states where more than 50 basketball courts were destroyed, more than 40 basketball players were killed and many were rendered homeless.

“Upon that, Mr. Tijani Umar has never visited those areas as president of the NBBF to condole with the basketball family, not to talk of giving them support.”

They said representatives of the other regions that form the NBBF have been organising basketball events in their zones, alleging that Umar has not held any event in the Northeast.

“Many players and officials of the game from the north east do not even know him.

“We will never sit down and watch states’ associations in the north east sub-region vote any unpopular candidate,” they said.