Mustapha Abdullahi, Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, was elected president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation on Thursday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, securing 40 of the 48 votes cast. Former D'Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji received eight votes, while former Nigerian international Ejike Ugboaja got none after walking out of the proceedings alleging the process had been hijacked in favour of Abdullahi.
Presidential aspirant Igoche Mark withdrew a day before the election, citing concerns about its fairness. In a petition dated October 12, Mark, Oyedeji and Ugboaja asked President Bola Tinubu to direct the National Sports Commission to halt the vote and investigate alleged breaches of the NBBF constitution, accusing outgoing president Musa Kida of compromising the process and claiming more than 15 state basketball association chairmen and representatives had been removed and replaced shortly before the election. Kida and Abdullahi have not responded to the claims.
A Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned until November 3 a suit filed by former D'Tigers coach Ayodele Bakare challenging the legality of the elective congress. Bakare was disqualified from contesting after submitting his nomination forms past the deadline. The election proceeded after FIBA directed the NBBF to conclude its board election by October 15, ending Kida's eight-year tenure.
NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko urged officials to put their differences aside after the vote. Abdullahi, a chartered engineer and doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, said his presidency represented the culmination of a lifelong connection with basketball that began on grassroots courts in northern Nigeria.
