Confusion Hits Kida Camp As Ministry Postpones NBBF Elections Indefinitely

Confusion Hits Kida Camp As Ministry Postpones NBBF Elections Indefinitely By Niyi Busari With four days to D-Day, all looked good for the 2021 Nigeria Basketball Federation elections scheduled for Saturday, October 30 in Benin Edo State. Two hours before the Ministry's press statement that thrown confusion into the camp of former president, Musa Kida, the NBBF had announced through a statement its readiness to conduct the scheduled elections. "With continued interests being generated by the 2021 Nigeria Basketball Federation elections, the Electoral Committee is leaving no stone unturned to deliver on their mandate." The statement began. "The electoral process backed by a duly certified constitution by the Congress is the first of its kind in the history of Nigerian basketball." It continued. [caption id="attachment_56088" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Musa Kida cooled off tension with cold bottle water[/caption] It added, "In a communiqué signed by the Electoral Committee Chairman Dr Lanre Glover and its Secretary, Barrister Emma Okibe, the voting will be done in line with the provisions of the 2019 NBBF statute. This announcement they said was important to put paid to insinuations over the composition and eligibility status of voters." The statement also explained how votes for the available positions are going to be cast. "It has been brought to the attention of the Electoral Committee that some people are not clear on who can vote and how many votes are available". "The NBBF Statute is clear on this. For the President and Vice President, there are 50 votes to be cast. 36 States Associations and the Federal Capital Territory have a vote each". "Elected representatives of the 6 Geo Political Zones have a vote each alongside Technical Representative, Players Union, NAWIS, Military/Paramilitary, Continental/International Rep, Corporate Sponsor and NAPHERSD with one vote each. "It was announced that the Zonal Elections will precede the elections for the President and the Vice President to determine the Representatives that will join the pool of 44 in consonance with the NBBF Statute. The much talked about NBBF elections will take place on the Saturday, 30th of September, 2021 in Benin City." Before the suspension of the elections on Monday, the former president of the NBBF, Musa Kida would have contested for re-election of the position unopposed as Tijjani Umar camp stayed off from participating in the elections. The TJ Umar group insisted that Kida-led NBBF tenure had expired four months ago, hence has no power in any capacity to call for the Extra-Ordinary Congress where the election date and venue were determined. They also question the reason for rescheduling the elections meant to be conducted in Abuja to Edo State and also asked Kida to clear his name before the Nigeria anti-corruption agency (ICPC) after being invited for explanation on the sponsorship deals, and how monies generated by the Federation were spent in the last four years. Meanwhile, there were protests by the Nigerian basketball players - against the re-election of Kida, in the nation's capital, Abuja as well as abroad-based national team players. In a viral video, D'Tigress accused Kida led NBBF of owing them bonuses and allowance since 2018, and also accused him of not treating them fairly and in the process made a three-point demands adding that failure to meet up with the demands will lead to boycotting the qualifiers for the Women's world Cup. D'Tigress in September in Cameroon won the Afrobasket title for the third time. The Nigeria women's national team won the title for the third time having won the previous two editions.