Alleged Ploy To Derail NBBF Elections Through Character Assassination- Ben Ogbemudia
The Latest Desperate Ploy to Derail the NBBF Elections With barely five weeks to the FIBA-mandated October 15, 2026 deadline for NBBF elections, the forces of destabilization have released their latest weapon: a press statement riddled with anonymous allegations, unnamed culprits, and unverifiable claims, all designed to create confusion in the minds of Nigerian basketball stakeholders.
The press release, issued by an entity calling itself the ‘Nigeria Basketball Network’, alleges a ‘coordinated attempt to manipulate the federation’s electoral process.’ It speaks of an unnamed public official with alleged anti-corruption troubles, unnamed ‘senior NSC officials,’ unnamed ‘political and government influence,’ and unnamed changes in unnamed State Basketball Associations. The entire document is a masterclass in innuendo, designed to smear without accountability and accuse without evidence.
The Nigerian basketball community deserves better. Let us address the facts. The Source: Who Is the ‘Nigeria Basketball Network’? First, let us consider the source. The ‘Nigeria Basketball Network’ is not a registered media organization.
It is not an accredited sports body. It has no verifiable address, no editorial board, and no journalistic accountability. It appears to be a front for factional interests seeking to influence public opinion through anonymous press releases.
This is the same pattern we have seen throughout the manufactured NBBF ‘crisis’: press conferences by disgruntled board members who publicly boycotted federation activities, coordinated media campaigns timed to electoral cycles, and now anonymous ‘stakeholder’ statements making sweeping allegations without a single named source or documentary evidence.
The basketball community should ask: if these allegations are credible, why hide behind anonymity? If there is evidence of electoral manipulation, why not present it to FIBA, the NSC, or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as prescribed by the NBBF Constitution? The answer is clear: there is no evidence.
There is only innuendo. The Quoted Spokesperson: A Curious Reversal The press release quotes one Biola Shomala, described as a ‘FIBA-certified statistician and basketball stakeholder.’ What the press release does not mention is that this same Biola Shomala, also known as Abiola Shomala, served as Event Coordinator for the NBBF’s FIBA Statistics Training and Certification programme in October 2017. At that event, as reported by Daily Trust, Shomala publicly ‘thanked the leadership of the NBBF under Engineer Musa Kida for bringing FIBA to Nigeria for the first time in 13 years to train and certify interested Nigerians.’ He described the initiative as ‘the best thing to have happened to basketball in a long time.’
What changed? How does a person who praised Kida’s leadership a while back become, in 2026, a voice condemning ‘desperation and manipulation’ in the same federation? The answer likely lies in the factional politics that have plagued Nigerian basketball for years. When individuals align with factions, their ‘principles’ shift with the political winds.
The Unnamed Allegations: A Study in Innuendo Let us examine the specific allegations in the press release: Allegation 1: An unnamed public official is being promoted as NBBF president by Engr. Kida and an unnamed ‘senior NSC official.’ Inquest: Who is this individual? No name is provided. Who is the ‘senior NSC official’? No name is provided. What evidence exists of this alleged promotion? None is presented. This is not journalism. This is not whistleblowing.
This is character assassination by innuendo, designed so that anyone in public life can be suspected while no one can be specifically defended. Allegation 2: This unnamed individual has ‘unresolved’ issues with an anti-corruption agency. Inquest: This is a serious allegation that, if true and if directed at a specific individual, could be verified through public records. But no name is given. No case number is cited. No official statement is referenced.
The allegation is designed to create a cloud ofsuspicion over anyone the reader might guess is being referenced, without the accountability of a specific accusation that could be refuted. Allegation 3: The unnamed individual is being ‘marketed’ in Germany as the next NBBF president. Inquest: D’Tigress are competing at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany, which will be concluded on September 13, 2026. Nigerian basketball officials, stakeholders, and supporters were present. Is the press release suggesting that any Nigerian who interacted with the international basketball community during this period was engaged in improper campaigning? This is absurd on its face. Allegation 4: State Basketball Association chairmen in Taraba and Imo were replaced as part of electoral manipulation. Inquest: State Basketball Associations are autonomous bodies governed by their own constitutions and answerable to their state governments. Changes in leadership occur for many reasons, including elections, resignations, and administrative decisions at the state level. To suggest, without evidence, that any such change is part of a national conspiracy is to insult the intelligence of state-level stakeholders who make their own decisions. The Real Agenda: Chaos Before Elections This press release follows a familiar pattern. Since February 2026, a faction of disgruntled board members, including Colonel Sam Ahmedu (Rtd), Olumide Oyedeji, Adamu Deshi, and others, have conducted a sustained campaign to delegitimize the NBBF leadership.
They held press conferences claiming the board’s tenure had expired. FIBA ruled against them, confirming the tenure runs until October 15, 2026. They claimed to be ‘excluded’ from meetings. In reality, they had publicly announced a boycott of NBBF activities. They filed complaints with the NSC. NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko publicly warned this group to stop ‘setting up press conferences with NBBF members with ulterior motives.’ These actors have a documented history of destabilization. Colonel Sam Ahmedu, according to a 2023 Vanguard investigation, has been described as ‘the cog in the Federation’s wheel of progress,’ a man who has ‘started a war’ with successive NBBF presidents: Alhaji U.K. Umar, Gyang Buba (now the Gbom Gwom Jos), and Alhaji Tijjani Umar. Notably, Colonel Ahmedu has never stood for an NBBF presidential election and won. His pattern is consistent: support a candidate, help them win, then turn against them when he cannot control them. Having relocated to the USA, he continues to attempt to pull strings from afar, manufacturing crises through proxies and factional allies. Olumide Oyedeji, who served as Vice President to Tijjani Umar in 2017, carries his own unresolved questions. He headed the Kwese League Management Board that received $2.2 million in sponsorship money, funds that remain publicly unaccounted for to this day. More critically, the Kwese League Management Committee, which Oyedeji chaired, along with two clubs, instituted a court action against the Kida-led Board and the then Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports. An interim injunction was granted by the court against Kida and his team from holding any form of Premier Basketball League in Nigeria. When the Kida Board attempted to circumvent the court order by instituting the President’s Cup so that domestic basketball could continue, they rushed to report to the court, and the judge cited Kida and his board for contempt. The case was later dismissed for lack of merit, but only three and a half years into the first tenure of the Kida Board. This was a colossal waste of time and the biggest setback for our domestic league. This failure must always be linked to the unpatriotic few of the Kwese League Board who instituted that unfortunate case. Now, with elections just weeks away, they have shifted tactics. Unable to win the argument on tenure, unable to secure FIBA’s backing, they now resort to anonymous allegations of ‘manipulation’ and ‘political interference’ designed to cast doubt on the legitimacy of whatever electoral outcome they do not control. The strategy is transparent: if you cannot win the election, delegitimize the process. If you cannot present evidence, make anonymous allegations. If you cannot name your target, create a cloud of suspicion over everyone. What FIBA Has Actually Mandated For the record, here is what FIBA has directed, as communicated in the March 16, 2026 letter from Secretary General Andreas Zagklis: 1. The current NBBF board’s mandate is valid until October 15, 2026. 2. Elections must be held after the Women’s World Cup (which ends September 13, 2026) and no later than October 15, 2026.
3. The new board assumes office on October 16, 2026. 4. Elections must be conducted under the existing NBBF statutory framework. 5. FIBA will not recognize any amendment to the NBBF statutes before the completion of the electoral process. This framework exists precisely to ensure a credible, transparent election. The electoral timetable and guidelines will be released in accordance with FIBA’s directive. The Extra-Ordinary General Assembly will be convened. Delegates from the 36 States and FCT will vote. The process will be transparent. Any candidate who meets the statutory requirements is free to contest. Any stakeholder with evidence of manipulation is free to present it to FIBA, the NSC, or the Court of Arbitration for Sport as prescribed by the NBBF Constitution. But anonymous press releases from unverifiable sources making unnamed allegations are not evidence. They are noise. The Record Speaks: What the Kida Administration Has Delivered While factional actors manufacture crises, the NBBF under Engineer Musa Kida has delivered results: D’Tigress has won five consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025) and became the first African team to reach an Olympic basketball quarter-final at Paris 2024. The NBBF Premier League, which was halted between 2017 and 2021 due to the court injunction instituted by the Kwese League Management Board under Olumide Oyedeji, has run continuously since the case was dismissed for lack of merit. The 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons were all completed successfully. Multi-year partnerships have been secured with Zenith Bank, XE Jet, Adidas, TotalEnergies, and Pamodzi Sports Consulting, while strategic partnership arrangements with NNPC Limited are being finalised. Grassroots development programmes continue. FIBA itself acknowledged ‘improved structure and credibility’ in the federation. This is the record. This is what governance looks like. The factional actors offer only complaints, anonymous allegations, and manufactured outrage. A Challenge to the Critics: Where Is Your Vision? If Colonel Sam Ahmedu, Olumide Oyedeji, Adamu Deshi, and their allies truly care about Nigerian basketball, the path forward is clear, let them present a manifesto. Let them articulate a programme for the development of the sport. Let them tell Nigerian basketball stakeholders what they will do differently, what structures they will build, what partnerships they will secure, what competitions they will organize, and how they will sustain the success of D’Tigress and revive the fortunes of D’Tigers. Elections are about choices between competing visions, not merely about tearing down incumbents. Ccampaign should be based on substance, not scandal. The basketball community is waiting to hear what they stand for, not merely what they stand against.
Conclusion: Let the Delegates Decide The question posed by the ‘Nigeria Basketball Network’ is revealing: ‘Who exactly is determining the next NBBF president: the basketball congress or political and administrative power brokers?’ The answer is clear: the basketball congress will decide. Delegates from the 36 States and FCT will gather. Candidates will present themselves. Votes will be cast. A new board will emerge. This is the process FIBA has mandated. This is the process the NBBF will follow. The Nigerian basketball community should not be distracted by phantom plots and unnamed villains. The elections will proceed. The process will be transparent. The delegates will decide.
