Tijani Umar-led board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has welcomed the decision of the Executive Committee of FIBA for a fresh election to settle the lingering crisis in the NBBF.
This comes after the Apex body took a decision based on the report of its 3-man fact finding team which visited Nigeria last month.
In a statement signed by the media adviser of the Umar-led faction, Patrick Omorodion, they have agreed to respect the reconciliation effort of FIBA and thus fresh election to settle the disputes.
“As a body that respects the reconciliation effort of Fiba and having consistently identified a new election as the only way for a fair and equitable settlement of the dispute, we accept the directive of FIBA for a fresh election based on the NBBF Statutes and overseen by Fiba without interference from any third party.”
The Umar group also decided to continue preparations for the new league season while the Musa Kida-led faction take charge of the national team pending a fresh election.
“Since Fiba has not recognized either of the elections held last June and pending the fresh election, we shall continue with our home leagues and other local activities including concluding the National Divisions 1 and 2 championships currently going on in Ilorin, Kwara State.
“After the conclusion of the National Divisions 1 and 2 Championships, the board will begin preparations for the commencement of its elite leagues, the Kwese Premier League and the Zenith Women’s League.”
They however commended FIBA for accepting to oversee parts or the entirety of the new election process as it would forestall interference by any third party and ensure the independence of the NBBF.
