Basketball
NBBF to Fix Minimum Wage For League Players
The players’ representative on the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Ejike Ugboaja has hinted that the federation will soon go into talks with clubs in the Nigerian League system to fix the minimum wage for players.
Ugboaja made this known after a two-day retreat with players plying their trade in the Nigerian Basketball League system (Premier League, Division 1, Division 2 and Zenith Women Basketball League) in Lagos.
The players’ representative who rose through the ranks in the national teams during a career that spanned 17 years said the new NBBF under Engineer Musa Kida is poised to protect the interest of players.
“As a federation, we are going to enter into a discussion with clubs to decide on a minimum wage for players in the league system. I am going to serve them and do exactly what they expect of me and no player will be left behind.”
He appealed to all players to join hands with the federation to bring the desired change and sanity to the league system.
“Two months ago, nobody knew that what we have achieved could be possible. This is a process that we are putting in place to ensure that all these issues are tackled.”
According to Ejike who is also the President of the Basketball Players Association of Nigeria (BAPAN), the players associations will step in on behalf of players to look for educational opportunities home and abroad as part of their new policy direction to encourage players to combine education with sports.
The former Cleveland Cavaliers player who was drafted straight from the Nigerian league pointed out that the Afrobasket success of the women’s team in Mali, the silver medal winning team of D’Tigers in Tunisia and the recent achievement of the boys and girls 3×3 teams was largely due to the improvement in players’ welfare.
“What we have been seeing in the past is basketball with a whole lot of politics. But with a man who has played the game now in charge of its administration, we are rest assured that he knows what the game is all about and what the players stand for.”
Ejike said that with the leadership quality and achievements recorded in just two months, the players were solidly behind their president who shouldered the bills of basketball officials at the just concluded National Youth Games in Ilorin.
“So, now speaking on behalf of all our players, we are accepting his role as our president. We are solidly behind him as he charts the way forward for basketball in Nigeria.”
Another meeting is slated for this Saturday with players in the Savannah Conference at the Package B of the Abuja National Stadium.
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
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For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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