NBBF election, RIGHT OF REPLY

NBBF election, RIGHT OF REPLY

Re: Misleading Press Statement on the Tenure of the Nigeria Basketball Federation Board

Abuja, Nigeria — February 24, 2026

This statement is issued in response to a document circulating under the title “State of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF)” alleging that the tenure of the Board elected in January 2022 expired on January 31, 2026.

The assertions contained therein are legally flawed, factually incomplete, and calculated to mislead stakeholders.

1. MISSTATEMENT OF TENURE COMMENCEMENT

The central claim advanced is that tenure commenced on January 31, 2022, by virtue of election and swearing-in at the venue of the election.

That assertion deliberately ignores a material and dispositive fact:

The Board did not assume lawful operational authority in January 2022.

Following the January 31, 2022 election:

• The supervising sports authority did not immediately recognize the elected Board.

• An interim administrative structure remained in place.

• Operational control of federation instruments — including administrative authority and financial control — was not transferred.

• Formal recognition and inauguration occurred in October 2022.

A Board cannot logically be deemed to exercise tenure during a period in which it neither held recognized authority nor exercised full administrative control.

To argue that tenure ran from January 2022 is to argue that time counted while the Board lacked the ability to function.

That interpretation is legally untenable.

2. CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION MUST BE PRACTICAL, NOT ABSTRACT

The NBBF Constitution must be interpreted in context and in harmony with Nigeria’s sports governance framework.

Even if Articles 21.8, 23.1, and 23.10 reference election and swearing-in, they cannot be read in isolation from:

• Recognition by the supervising authority,

• Transfer of administrative instruments,

• Effective assumption of office.

Constitutional interpretation does not operate in a vacuum.

A mechanical reading that ignores the nine-month period of non-recognition would result in an unlawful truncation of tenure.

No constitutional provision authorizes the shortening of tenure due to regulatory delay.

3. THE OCTOBER 2022 RECOGNITION IS LEGALLY MATERIAL

The Board’s lawful operational tenure commenced upon formal inauguration and recognition in October 2022.

Between January and October 2022:

• The Board did not exercise full control of federation governance.

• Administrative authority was transitional.

• Institutional recognition was pending.

Tenure attaches to lawful assumption of office — not to a disputed electoral ceremony that lacked operational consequence.

Any contrary claim is an attempt to weaponize technical language to manufacture premature expiration.

4. FALSE ASSERTION THAT “NO BOARD EXISTS”

The statement further declares that:

“There is presently no constitutionally recognized NBBF Board in office.”

This is a reckless and legally unsupported conclusion.

No competent organ has:

• Convened Congress to dissolve the Board;

• Conducted an elective Congress;

• Issued a judicial declaration of vacancy;

• Received a directive from FIBA nullifying the Board.

Until such lawful action occurs, the Board remains the recognized governing authority.

Media declarations do not dissolve constitutional bodies.

5. MISREPRESENTATION OF BOARD MEMBERSHIP

It is equally important to address a fundamental factual inaccuracy in the circulated document.

Two individuals listed as “Concerned Members of the Outgone NBBF Board” are not, and have never been, duly elected or constitutionally recognized members of the current Board.

Under Articles 21.7 and 21.11 of the NBBF Constitution:

• A Board seat becomes vacant only upon death, bankruptcy, or criminal conviction.

• Any replacement must be selected by Congress upon suggestion of the Board.

• Neither the President nor the Board has unilateral power to appoint or replace a Board member.

Accordingly:

• No vacancy occurred in respect of those positions.

• No Congress selected those individuals as replacements.

• No constitutional process installed them as Board members.

They were not part of the initial Board elected in January 2022.

They are not current constitutional members of the Board.

Any representation suggesting otherwise is false and misleading.

The public cannot be misled into believing that individuals without constitutional standing possess authority to issue declarations regarding the status of the Board.

6. UNSUBSTANTIATED GOVERNANCE ALLEGATIONS

The document makes sweeping claims of:

• Non-operation of bank accounts;

• Undisclosed sponsorship funds;

• Financial approvals without quorum;

• Conflicts of interest;

• Expulsion without due process.

These are serious allegations.

Notably:

• No exhibits are attached.

• No minutes are published.

• No bank records are cited.

• No audit findings are referenced.

• No court proceedings are disclosed.

Governance disputes are adjudicated through constitutional processes — not through anonymous compilations of unverified accusations.

Where allegations affect commercial relationships, sponsorship agreements, and institutional credibility, such statements may carry legal consequences.

7. MISCHARACTERIZATION OF THE JANUARY 9 MEETING

The January 9, 2026 stakeholders’ meeting is portrayed as having resolved tenure expiration.

Even if such discussions occurred, no stakeholders’ meeting has constitutional authority to:

• Amend tenure;

• Dissolve a Board;

• Override the Constitution;

• Substitute for Congress.

Article 20.1 establishes Congress as the supreme organ.

No valid Congress has declared tenure expired.

No elective Congress has been conducted.

Therefore, the attempt to treat a stakeholders’ discussion as a constitutional termination mechanism is improper.

8. TIMING AND COMMERCIAL RISK

The agitation arises immediately ahead of Nigeria’s participation in international qualifiers in France.

At a time when:

• International partnerships are active,

• Sponsorship frameworks are in motion,

• Institutional credibility is paramount,

Manufacturing instability risks undermining Nigerian basketball’s global standing.

Institutional governance cannot be subordinated to factional ambition.

9. THE PRESENT POSITION

The lawful position is as follows:

• The Board’s effective tenure commenced upon formal recognition and operational assumption of office in October 2022.

• No competent constitutional organ has declared the tenure expired.

• No elective Congress has been convened.

• No binding directive has been issued by FIBA.

• The Board remains the recognized governing authority until constitutionally replaced.

Any meeting convened by properly recognized officers remains valid unless and until overturned by a competent body.

10. NOTICE TO STAKEHOLDERS

The integrity of Nigerian basketball must not be destabilized by selective constitutional interpretation, misrepresentation of membership status, or politically timed narratives.

Disputes, if any, should be resolved through:

• Proper Congress procedures;

• Judicial recourse;

• Formal communication with FIBA;

• Lawful transition mechanisms.

Public declarations without constitutional backing do not invalidate sitting institutions.

The focus remains on stability, compliance, and protection of Nigeria’s athletes and partnerships.

Ugo Udezue

Board member

-Southeast Rep

-Chairman Sports and Marketing Committee

Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF)