The Nigeria Basketball Federation has again warned members of the Nigeria Basketball Referees Council (NBRC) to stay away from holding any illegal election in Kaduna on Saturday, 6th of April, sports247.ng gathers.
According to Ado Salisu who made this available to newsmen said the NBBF through a letter from its Secretary General, Chimezie Asiegbu to the NBRC warned that the body has no power to conduct any election without notifying NBBF as it is totally impossible for some few individuals to turn the laws establishing NBRC on its head by attempting to conduct a kangaroo election without due process.
“It has come to our attention that you have invited Referees to Kaduna for an AGM /Election on 6th April, 2019 without informing the NBBF or the State Basketball Associations. This is in line with your continuous recalcitrant attitude towards the NBBF which notes that the tenure of your current executive has lapsed, and while there is need to reconstitute a new executive body, this is expected to be done with recourse to the NBBF in line with existing rules and regulations, which mandates that the NBBF should be informed and also be present as observers at any AGM to be organized by any of its affiliates, same way the NOC and the Ministry of Youths and Sports are to be informed about any AGM being organized by the NBBF. However, you have failed to inform the NBBF and State Associations.”
According to the federation, the NBRC will be jeopardising the legality of the body which derives its powers from the NBBF as an affiliate by contravening the laws that established it.
The NBBF said their decisions to allow affiliates like the Coaches Association, Referees Council and the Technical Officials to operate with a great level of independence should not be taken for granted.
“We reiterate that the Referees Council does not exist in a vacuum. It is made up of all the Referees from the States Basketball Associations and like the State Associations, it remains an affiliate of the NBBF.”
As earlier stated in the letter dated 6th March, 2019 addressed to Popoola led executive whose term of office had already elapsed, Asiegbu said as an affiliate of the NBBF, the Referees Council is expected to have recourse to the NBBF on all matters related to Basketball including but not limited to your AGMs.
The federation sternly warned that it will not sit back and watch any of its affiliates or individuals bring the game to disrepute through calculated attempts to undermine the rules and regulations of the NBBF which is the apex basketball ruling body in Nigeria.
“In the light of the above, I am directed to inform you that the NBBF neither recognizes nor sanction the purported AGM proposed for Kaduna. To this end, the Federation has directed that any Referee who attends the gathering under reference will be liable to sanctions”, Asiegbu warned.
