Alleged Vote Manipulation: NBBF Presidential Candidates Urge Tinubu’s Intervention

By Samuel Akpan

Three presidential candidates in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) have petitioned President Bola Tinubu, accusing outgoing president Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida of rigging the 2026–2030 election in favour of an anointed candidate.

In a joint statement obtained by PerSecondNews, the candidates – Igoche Mark (North-Central), Olumide Oyedeji (South-West), and Ejike Ugboaja (South-East) – warned that these procedural breaches threaten the election’s credibility and risk deepening fractures within the sport.

They called on President Tinubu to mandate the National Sports Commission to halt all electoral activities immediately and conduct a thorough investigation before any voting takes place.

“We, the undersigned stakeholders and candidates in the forthcoming Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) elections for the 2026–2030 term, most respectfully wish to draw your attention to grave irregularities and constitutional breaches in the ongoing electoral process,” they stated.

The candidates alleged that Kida, who also chairs NNPC Limited, compromised the process to install Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, as his successor.

They claimed more than 15 legitimate state basketball chairmen and delegates were arbitrarily removed and replaced with unqualified persons barely two weeks before the Extraordinary and Elective Congresses.

The states include Zamfara, Kaduna, Gombe, Benue, Kwara, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Niger, Edo and Taraba, with the changes allegedly driven by financial inducements and influence, backed by some state governors.

The aspirants said the moves violated fairness, equity and the NBBF Constitution, while some candidates who applied for positions were quietly excluded by the electoral committee.

They further questioned Abdullahi’s eligibility as a serving full-time public officer, citing the 2026 Public Service Rules that restrict outside commercial activities.

“It is trite that under the Public Service Rules (PSR) on Part-Time Commercial Activity, under the Nigeria Public Service Rules (2026 Edition), a full-time public servant, especially the Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer of a government agency.

“He is prohibited from engaging in any business, occupation or private running of organisations that will detract from their full-time official duties,” the petition sighted by Persecondnews correspondent late Tuesday night said..

They argued that heading the NBBF requires significant time and dedication that could conflict with Abdullahi’s primary role as Director General of the Energy Commission, though how electoral rules strictly apply to his situation remains uncertain.

“In view of the foregoing, we humbly appeal to Your Excellency to kindly direct the National Sports Commission (NSC) to halt the process and investigate these breaches before any election takes place in exercise of its oversight functions in order to ensure transparency, fairness and compliance with the Constitution and thus preserve the integrity of Nigerian basketball,” they wrote.

The ongoing controversy, as highlighted by PerSecondNews, brings renewed focus to long-felt frustrations over fragile domestic competitions and a lack of private stakeholder engagement during the outgoing leadership’s tenure.

The allegations are unconfirmed as of publication time, with responses still pending from Musa Kida, Mustapha Abdullahi, and representatives of the NBBF electoral committee.