NBBF given approval to restart Premier Basketball League

The Federal government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has given approval for the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, to reopen the Men’s Premier League.

This approval is coming after many months of inactivity following a court case brought against the Engineer Musa Kida led board of the NBBF by the management Board of Kwese Basketball League and others.

It will be recalled that after so many adjournments, the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 26, struck out the case for lack of merit.

In a letter signed by Dr. Simon Ebhojiaye on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Nebeolisa Anako, the FG said “With this positive judgment, the NBBF is permitted to commence any tournament (Premier League) in the country”.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports in the letter noted that, “On the 26th January, 2021, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja struck out the above case (FHC/ABJ/CS/1317/2019) which was instituted against the NBBF and the Honourable Minister”.

In view of the latest judicial decision, the NBBF is said to have intensified its hunt for prospective sponsors of the Men’s Premier League after Kwese withdrew from Nigeria business space due to financial reasons.

It would be recalled that the Kwese Management board led by Oyedeji, Chairman of Gombe Bulls, Ibrahim Sa’ad and that of Kwara Falcons, Dr Joseph Adeyemo brought a suit against the federation in 2018 stopping the NBBF from organizing the league.

The NBBF said due to the injunction on the Premier League, it was impossible for the board to replicate its initiatives with the apex league.

This approval, will therefore, come as a huge relief for the male basketball clubs that were badly hit by the ban.