Minister, NSC, NBBF to Appear in Court October 17.

Nigeria Basketball Federation.
Nigeria Basketball Federation.

DISENCHANTED by the manner petitions over elections into the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation were handled (NBBF), Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and five others including Osita Nwachukwu representing South East, have dragged the sports ministry, National Sports Commission (NSC) and the NBBF to court.

According to documents made available to the press, the Sports Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Sport Commission, Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba, Tijani Umar, Muktar Kaleh and Patrick Omorodion are to appear at the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 17, 2013.

The plaintiffs, according to the writ of summon, are praying the court to declare that the exclusion of the Col Ahmedu retd on the board of the NBBF is unlawful, that an order of perpetual injunction retraining the 4th defendant (Tijani Umar) from parading himself as President of the NBBF board and the 5th defendant (Muktar Kaleh) as the vice president of the board.

They are also praying that the court grants an order nullifying the elections held on the May 14 on grounds of non compliance with the electoral guidelines, an order of the court directing the first, second and third defendants to conduct fresh elections into the NBBF board in strict compliance with the electoral guidelines and asking that the sum of N100, 000, 000. 00 are granted them for general damages against the defendants jointly and severally.

Aside these, the plaintiffs are requesting an order of perpetual injunction retraining the 6th defendant (Patrick Omorodion) from parading himself as a member of the NBBF, 2013 to 2017 term of office.

It was gathered that the four delegates representing 24 states out of the 36 states of the federation, who worked out of the election had taken their petition to the 7-man elections appeals panel and the recommendation was that there was a burning zeal of all the petitioners and their desire to take the game to the next level, hence the committee chaired by Bar. A. U. Mustapha Esq., appealled to the minister to use his good offices to reconcile the petitioners with the other board members of NBBF with a view of fostering healthy working relations among all the parties.

Contacted on this latest development, Col Ahmedu, said after he and the five other stakeholders had painstakingly waited for a response from all the parties they petitioned but got no positive response hence their choice of a law court.

Col Ahmedu stated that on May 27, 2013, he submitted a petition to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and got a response on June 5 in a letter signed by the Secretary General, Tunde Popoola to that effect.

The NOC in their letter had stated that the matter was being looked into without any prejudice and that it would undergo due process. It stated, however, that the process it is undergoing is not inhibiting my rights reserved to progress the issue to other appellate body if I so desire. It is based on their advice that we have taken this option of the court, he stated.

Courtesy of The Guardian Nigeria