Reviewed by Rahmon OluwoNigeria sports betting writer
Published 11 October 2026
Mustapha Abdullahi, Olumide Oyedeji and Ejike Ugboaja were cleared to contest the Nigeria Basketball Federation presidency when the Electoral Committee announced its screening outcome in Abuja on Saturday 10 October.
Ayo Bakare was disqualified for submitting his nomination documents late. Igoche Mark has until Monday to file a tax clearance certificate.
How the nominations ran
Nomination forms had to be returned by two in the afternoon on Thursday 8 October. A seven member Electoral Committee chaired by Lanre Glover, and a three member Appeals Committee alongside it, were constituted at the federation’s Extraordinary Congress in Yola, Adamawa State. The Electoral Committee screens the candidates and the Appeals Committee hears appeals against its decisions.
The week that decides it
Elections for the federation’s affiliate bodies run from 7 to 14 October. The players’ representatives are elected on 12 October. The technical representative is elected on 13 October, which is also the deadline for appeals against the Electoral Committee’s decisions. The Appeals Committee issues its final decisions on 14 October, the day before the congress.
What is being filled
Article 21 of the federation’s 2019 statutes, as set out in its electoral release, gives the incoming Executive Board a president, a vice president, six zonal members, and representatives of the referees and coaches associations, the players’ union, the military and paramilitary, corporate sponsors, continental and international boards, NAWIS and NAPHER. The affiliate, players’ and technical seats are filled in their own elections before the congress sits.
The congress opens at nine in the morning at the International Conference Centre in Abuja. Representatives of FIBA, the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the National Sports Commission will witness the election.
How it got here
The federation has been working to a deadline for putting a new board in place, and 15 October in Abuja is the date it set. Our Nigeria sports news page will carry the outcome.
