‘Phantom Stakeholders Cannot Dissolve a Constitutionally Recognized Board’: NBBF Labels Tenure Claims Reckless

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has issued an official rebuttal to a document circulating under the title ‘State of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF)’, which claims that the tenure of the Board elected in January 2022 expired on January 31, 2026.

Board member and Southeast Representative, Ugo Udezue, who also chairs the Sports and Marketing Committee, described the assertions as ‘legally flawed, factually incomplete, and calculated to mislead stakeholders.’

He warned that the attempt to elevate unconstitutional bodies as the governing authority of Nigerian basketball, with the apparent connivance of the National Sports Commission, is both reckless and destabilizing.

The central claim advanced in the circulated statement is that tenure commenced on January 31, 2022, by virtue of election and swearing-in at the venue of the election.

Udezue dismissed this as a deliberate distortion, noting that the Board did not assume lawful operational authority in January 2022. Following the election, the supervising sports authority withheld recognition, an interim administrative structure remained in place, and operational control of federation instruments was not transferred. Formal recognition and inauguration only occurred in October 2022.

‘A Board cannot logically be deemed to exercise tenure during a period in which it neither held recognized authority nor exercised full administrative control,’ Udezue said. ‘To argue that tenure ran from January 2022 is to argue that time counted while the Board lacked the ability to function. That interpretation is legally untenable.’

The rebuttal stressed that constitutional interpretation must be practical and contextual, not abstract. Even if certain articles of the NBBF Constitution reference election and swearing-in, they cannot be read in isolation from recognition by the supervising authority and effective assumption of office.

‘A mechanical reading that ignores the nine-month period of non-recognition would result in an unlawful truncation of tenure. No constitutional provision authorizes the shortening of tenure due to regulatory delay,’ the statement declared.

The document’s claim that ‘there is presently no constitutionally recognized NBBF Board in office’ was described as reckless and unsupported.

Udezue emphasized that no competent organ has convened Congress to dissolve the Board, conducted an elective Congress, issued a judicial declaration of vacancy, or received a directive from FIBA nullifying the Board. ‘Media declarations do not dissolve constitutional bodies,’ he said.

The rebuttal also addressed misrepresentation of membership, pointing out that two individuals listed as ‘Concerned Members of the Outgone NBBF Board’ were never duly elected or recognized members.

‘They were not part of the initial Board elected in January 2022. They are not current constitutional members of the Board. Any representation suggesting otherwise is false and misleading,’ Udezue clarified.

Sweeping allegations of financial impropriety, conflicts of interest, and expulsions without due process were dismissed as unsubstantiated.

‘No exhibits are attached, no minutes are published, no bank records are cited, no audit findings are referenced, and no court proceedings are disclosed. Governance disputes are adjudicated through constitutional processes, not through anonymous compilations of unverified accusations,’ Udezue emphasized.

The January 9, 2026 stakeholders’ meeting, which the document claims resolved tenure expiration, was also rejected as a constitutional nullity.

‘Article 20.1 establishes Congress as the supreme organ. No valid Congress has declared tenure expired. No elective Congress has been conducted. Therefore, the attempt to treat a stakeholders’ discussion as a constitutional termination mechanism is improper,’ the statement noted.

The timing of the agitation, immediately ahead of Nigeria’s participation in international qualifiers in France, was described as dangerous and politically motivated.

‘Institutional governance cannot be subordinated to factional ambition. Manufacturing instability risks undermining Nigerian basketball’s global standing,’ Udezue cautioned.

The press release reaffirmed the lawful position: the Board’s effective tenure commenced upon formal recognition in October 2022; no competent constitutional organ has declared the tenure expired; no elective Congress has been convened; no binding directive has been issued by FIBA; and the Board remains the recognized governing authority until constitutionally replaced.

‘The integrity of Nigerian basketball must not be destabilized by selective constitutional interpretation, misrepresentation of membership status, or politically timed narratives,’ Udezue declared.

‘Disputes, if any, should be resolved through proper Congress procedures, judicial recourse, formal communication with FIBA, and lawful transition mechanisms. Public declarations without constitutional backing do not invalidate sitting institutions.’