Former D’Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji is contesting the result of the Nigeria Basketball Federation presidential election held on October 15, citing alleged breaches of the constitution, problems with delegate selection and what he described as a compromised voting process.
Oyedeji, who serves as a FIBA and NBA ambassador, was beaten in the contest by Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, the Director-General of the Nigeria Energy Commission.
Speaking from Guangzhou, China, Oyedeji stressed that his complaint was not directed personally at Abdullahi, who was announced as the new NBBF president at the Elective Congress. “I have nothing against Dr Mustapha Abdullahi,” he said, while maintaining that the wider election process contained several serious defects and appeared to have been manipulated.
He claimed the outgoing NBBF president removed eight members of the federation’s board without lawful authority, a move which, in Oyedeji’s view, allowed decisions to be made without the quorum required under the federation’s rules.
Oyedeji also disputed the validity of the Extraordinary Congress staged in Yola. He alleged that the meeting was called without the written backing of two-thirds of board members required by the constitution. He further said that players, coaches, referees and NAPHER-SD were shut out of the gathering, while minutes from both the Extraordinary Congress and the subsequent Elective Congress have yet to be released.
Among his other objections were the removal of chairmen of state basketball associations and inconsistencies surrounding the substitution of delegates before the presidential vote.
The former national team skipper said he was omitted from the official candidates’ list for the South-West representative position, despite having been nominated for that role as well as the federation presidency. His name was eventually included during the October 15 congress, but Oyedeji argued that the delayed amendment had already damaged his efforts and deprived him of potential support.
He additionally questioned the Appeals Committee’s examination of his tax clearance certificate and the decision to give him only 24 hours to answer a query. Oyedeji said the deadline was not clearly supported by the electoral regulations governing the exercise.
Oyedeji warned that such issues could undermine trust in elections across sports federations and prevent experienced figures from taking part in basketball administration.
He said he intends to take his appeal through every available stage, with the aim of securing elections that are more open and inclusive across Nigerian sport.
