The Board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) convened on Saturday, 1st March 2026, at the Lagos Boat Club, Lagos, with the NBBF President, Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida, presiding over the meeting.
1.In his opening remarks, the President thanked and appreciated the tremendous support and encouragement that sports and indeed Basketball has received from the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, and noted with deep appreciation, the grand reception accorded the victorious D’Tigress, who became the African champions in 2025, for an unprecedented 5th consecutive time, after winning the 2025 Afrobasket championships in Senegal, which automatically qualified Nigeria for the 2026 FIBA women’s World Cup.
2.The Board also further acknowledged the strategic collaboration of the leadership of the National Sports Commission, led by its Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko and the Director General, Chief Bukola Olapade, and the board appreciated the NSC, for their timely support for all Basketball events, both within and outside of Nigeria.
3.The 2025-year activities report, including the standing Committees Reports were presented, extensively reviewed and adopted by the Board.
The board reaffirmed its commitment to raising officiating standards and strengthening competitive integrity across all divisions, Leagues and competitions which amongst others, address structure and hosting framework for the 2026 NBBF Premier League, Referees’ development, training, and certification programs and Competition scheduling and operational compliance.This will be incomplete Compliance with FIBA competition and officiating standards.
The Board also particularly reviewed with satisfaction:
*The successful hosting and execution of the 2025 NBBF Premier League.
*The continued growth, organization, and stability of the Zenith Bank Women’s Leagues.
*D’Tigress’ historic championship triumph in Abidjan, Côted’Ivoire, reaffirming Nigeria’s dominance in African women’s basketball, and remained unbeaten for close to a decade.
4. The Sponsorship and Marketing Committee report was extensively deliberated upon, reviewed and the Board approved the following:
*Sponsorship and Continued growth and commercial multi-year stability of the Zenith Bank Women’s premier and Division I Leagues.
*XEJet as the official aviation and logistics partner of the Nigerian women’s national team, (D’Tigress).
*Finalization of Adidas multi-year apparel partnership for Men’s and Women’s National Teams.
*NNPC Limited – Strategic partnership engagement for grassroot and national programmes.
*Total Energies – Corporate partnership discussions across domestic competitions.
*Engagement of Pamodzi Sports Consulting to support sponsorship acquisition, commercial packaging, and structured partnership development with NNPC.
5.The 2025 Financial Statement of approved activities and expenditures was tabled, thoroughly reviewed, and approved by the Board.
6.The Board extensively reviewed and approved the 2026 Calendar of events and related activities, with emphasis on structured planning, athlete preparation, competitive excellence, and financial discipline across all programs, which includes:
*2026 Men’s Premier league.
*D’Tigress–FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers(11–17, March, 2026, Lyon, France), and the FIBA Women’s World Cup 2026.
*D’Tigers – FIBA World Cup Qualifiers (Windows 3 & 4)
*U18 Boys & Girls – FIBA Africa Championships / Zonal Qualifiers
*Commonwealth Games (CWG) Preparations *WNBA Preparation Tours and strategic exhibition engagements
*TotalEnergies 2026 Divisions I and II men’s leagues
*Grassroots and youth development initiatives.
7.After extensive deliberation and review, the Board approved the 2026 NBBF Budget covering all the proposed activities for the year. The Board approval covered the Domestic Leagues Operations, Grassroots Programmes, National Team Programmes and competitions, international events and Competitions and Governance & Administration.
8. The Board reiterated the importance of prudent financial management and alignment with the Federation’s constitutional mandate under Article 5 (Mission and Role). This will Strengthen and professionally structure domestic competitions with a view to expand structured commercial engagements tied to domestic leagues, to ensure long-term sustainability and growth. It will equally enhance technical, officiating, and competition standards across all tiers of Nigerian basketball within the Country.
COMMUNIQUÉ DRAFTING COMMITTEE:
Felix Awogu
Ugo Udezue
Akeem Busari
