Ugo Udezue was elected vice president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation at its elective congress in Abuja on Thursday, 15 October 2026. He was the sole candidate for the position and had earlier been re-elected as the federation’s South-East zonal representative. Udezue will serve alongside Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, who succeeded Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida after eight years as president.
The former international began as a player in Nigeria’s youth programme and represented the country at Under-18 level before playing for the senior national team. After moving to the United States, the 6 ft 8 in forward starred for the University of Wyoming, earning second-team All-WAC honours and averaging over 20 points a game.
Udezue later entered the NBA’s business side, joining Bill Duffy’s BDA Sports Management in 2003. He became the first Nigerian certified as an NBA agent in the United States and rose to vice president at BDA, where he represented athletes for more than 17 years, including Nenê, Andre Roberson and Festus Ezeli.
In 2017, he co-founded the African Basketball League with six teams. The competition was later rebranded as the Continental Basketball League and expanded to ten teams across six African countries. Udezue also founded AFA Sports, which manufactures in Lagos and has supplied Nigeria’s D’Tigers and D’Tigress.
The NBBF vice president has served pro bono as chairman of its Sponsorship and Marketing Committee since being elected South-East representative in 2022. He now wants to help Nigerian players build successful careers at home, with stronger leagues, improved player welfare and reliable funding among the federation’s priorities.
