Revealed: Nigeria U16 Players Receive N1k Each from NBBF As Travelling Allowance

Revealed: Nigeria U16 Players Receive N1k Each from NBBF As Travelling Allowance 

By Niyi Busari

The Nigeria U16 boys and girls who are in Ghana engaging their counterparts at the just-concluded FIBA U16 African Zone 3 championship allegedly received the sum of One thousand naira (N1,000) from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), BSNSports com.ng reports.

The alleged paltry sum was paid to each player when they were about to leave Nigeria by road to Ghana, the venue of the competition.

BSN Sports investigation revealed that a dime was not given to the players during their 11-day camping in Abuja. 

Some of the players and team officials who spoke with www.bsnsports.com.ng on condition of anonymity spoke with one voice, "we didn't receive a dime during our 11-day camping in Abuja. But we (players) were paid one thousand naira (N1,000) each when we were about to leave Nigeria by road to Ghana. They didn't tell us what the money was meant for but we assumed it was meant for us to hold just in case we want to buy something on the road.

"Surprisingly, we were not paid any money until when we were about to embark on the journey. Despite all these, we remained focused on the task ahead which we were able to achieve."

The players resumed preparations in Abuja for the championship on 10th and ended 16 June, 2023.

The U16 girls and boys have however picked the World Cup qualification tickets in Ghana. Nigeria U16 girls won two games out two while the boys won one and lost one.

BSN Sports correspondence made several efforts to hear the side of the NBBF but the Secretary General, Mr Peter Njoku failed to pick his calls after several attempts. Messages were sent to his phone as SMS and on WhatsApp but decided not to respond to questions raised two days after reading the messages.