Disputes could ruin NBBF election bid, former D’Tigers coach Bakare raises alarm

Former D’Tigers coach and President of Comets Basketball Club in Lagos, Ayodele Bakare, has raised fresh questions on the legality and constitutional basis of the Special Congress of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) held in Yola, Adamawa State on September 25, 2026.

Bakare, who attended the congress as a delegate, made the observations in the second excerpt of his personal account titled “Memoirs of a Delegate to the 2026 NBBF Extraordinary Congress”.

His comments come after the NBBF Congress approved October 15, 2026 as the date for the elective congress in Abuja, while also constituting a seven-member electoral committee and three-member electoral appeal committees.

The federation said 39 of its 44 delegates attended the meeting in Yola.

Interestingly, 50 is the number of Congress delegates according to the NBBF constitution.

According to Bakare, one of the delegates who spoke during the proceedings questioned whether the Yola rally had been validly convened in accordance with the NBBF Constitution.

He said the NBBF President, Engineer Ahmadu Musa Kida, responded that the Extraordinary Congress was necessitated by the need to meet the October 15 deadline associated with the federation’s electoral transition.

However, Bakare argued that FIBA’s communication setting the timeline had been received months earlier, on March 16, 2026, which, in his view, provided sufficient time to organize a congress in accordance with the federation’s constitution.

He also said Kida proposed that Congress could vote to waive any constitutional anomaly that could affect the validity of the meeting.

Bakare said delegates later sought clarification on whether Congress had been asked to suspend constitutional provisions relevant to the meeting or to amend the Constitution so as to eliminate objections to the congress.

According to Bakare, delegates rejected both options, arguing that such a move would conflict with the NBBF Constitution and wider electoral guidelines.

Ultimately there was no vote to waive or suspend the constitutional provisions, Bakare said.

Bakare then turned to what he described as the specific requirements of the NBBF Constitution.

He cited Article 20.2, which provides that an Ordinary Congress is held every year, while every fourth Ordinary Congress serves as an Elective Congress.

He wondered why, in his interpretation, the federation had not held the required annual regular conference during the four-year tenure of the current council.

Bakare also referred to Article 20.5, which provides for an extraordinary Congress upon written request of two-thirds of the members, with the meeting to be held within 21 days of such request.

He therefore questioned whether the constitutional requirement that two-thirds of members can formally request the extraordinary Congress on September 25 had been met.

“However you calculate the disputed number of board members,” Bakare argued, the requirement would mean written requests from approximately eight or nine members, depending on whether the board is counted as having 11, 12 or 13 members. He asked if such written requests existed.

Bakare also questioned the circumstances surrounding the prolonged exclusion of some NBBF board members.

He said no written evidence of the resignation was provided in his account to contradict claims by some affected members that they had never resigned.

He highlighted Article 21.11.1, which deals with the circumstances in which a board member may be deemed to have left office.

He also referred to articles 21.14 and 21.15, concerning the suspension and revocation of councilors, as well as article 29, arguing that the relevant constitutional procedures should be established if the exclusion of councilors is the consequence of a disciplinary measure.

The issues raised by Bakare come in the context of a highly controlled electoral transition. The NBBF has now formally scheduled its elective congress for October 15 in Abuja, with elections for technical, players and other affiliated representatives expected between October 7 and 14.

Looking ahead, Bakare questioned whether proceeding with an electoral process that he said could face constitutional challenges would provide a lasting solution to the recurring controversies surrounding the NBBF elections.

It also raised the question of what would happen if the electoral process extended beyond October 15, the date by which the recognized mandate of the current board is expected to end under the transition framework reported by FIBA.

Bakare argued that stakeholders should consider whether there are constitutional provisions or historical precedents that could prevent a governance vacuum by allowing sufficient time for a properly constituted electoral process.

He warned against rushing into elections that could later become the subject of legal or constitutional challenges.

The former D’Tigers coach concluded by asking whether the NBBF should prioritize strict compliance with its constitutional procedures in pursuit of what he described as a more permanent solution to the federation’s recurring election disputes.

Bakare said his next episode will look at the “controversial removals and replacements of delegates” at the Yola Congress and what the NBBF Constitution provides on the issue.