Exclusive: Sports Ministry, NBBF Still Owe Us N14.4m - D'Tigress

Exclusive: Sports Ministry, NBBF Still Owe Us N14.4m - D'Tigress By Niyi Busari D'Tigress players have said that the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and the Ministry of Sports are owing them the sum of $35,015 (equivalent of N14,319,165), BSNSports.com.ng can report. The African champions stated that the NBBF is owing them $11,015 while the ministry is owing $24,000 for training grant. D'Tigress players in a jointly signed press statement made available to BSN Sports expressed their gratitude to everyone who has supported their cause in making that their demands are met. They particularly appreciated the banks that donated the Adopt-an-athlete money as well as the House Committee on Sports for their efforts in resolving the their debt crisis. The statement reads, "We want to express our gratitude to everyone that has collaborated with us, worked for us, and supported us. We know the journey has been a bumpy ride and we want you to know we appreciate you sincerely. "We want to extend our appreciation to the banks that donated to the Adopt-an-Athlete initiative, we received $115,000 from the Central bank. We also want to appreciate The House of Representatives Committee for their effort in trying to resolve some of our debt crisis. So far $59,000 out $73,115 was approved for refund by them, however, $11,015 balance is still owed by NBBF and $24,000 from our training grant by the Sports Ministry, has not been received by us. "We hope sooner rather than later a sit down with our team representatives, the Honorable Minister, the elected NBBF board and the House of Representatives Committee can be scheduled to address the rest of our concerns and hopefully we can affect change together and set a precedent of how sports are overseen in Nigeria." D'Tigress have won the Afrobasket title three consecutive times with the latest one at the 2021 Afrobasket championship in Cameroon.