* Lanre Glover Committee insists not aware of any cancellation of poll
Attempts by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to scuttle the scheduled elective congress of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) scheduled for October 30 in Benin City has hit the rock as the Electoral Committee insisted yesterday it was not aware of any cancellation of the election and is going ahead with the process as planned.
The Dr Lanre Glover led committee said yesterday: “We are unaware of changes since the Ministry’s pronouncement dated 30th, September which recognised the supremacy of the 2019 NBBF Constitution forming “the basis of the next elections and the resolution of any conflict that may emanate from it as well as the power of the Congress.”
The committee said it was not aware of any constitutional changes between then and now that could warrant or justify a volte-face on the holding of elections.
“The Electoral Committee was set up by a duly constituted Congress of the NBBF and is responsible to that Congress, whose authority is supreme,” the Committee said in a statement issued yesterday.
To this end, the Committee under the former chairman of the International Handball Federation, the Electoral Committee has decided in its meeting held on 26th of October that the elections will still go on as planned.
It said the Electoral Committee will conduct the NBBF election on the 30th of October, 2021as stipulated by the NBBF Congress.
While referring to the letter signed by the Director of the Federation of Elite of Athletes Department, Dr. S. E. Ebhojiaye, at its inaugural meeting, “the Nigeria Olympics Committee and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development can only supervise and not conduct the elections.”
The Committee insisted that the letter backing the decision of the NBBF Congress “was explicitly announced to supersede any other statement or position of the Ministry on the matter.
It stressed that the NOC and FMYSD will be observers alongside FIBA with the NBBF constitution reigning supreme.
As a result of the alleged misinformation caused by the purported cancellation of the election by the Ministry, “we have extended the submission date for nominations to noon of 29th, October, 2021,” concludes the statement from the Lanre Glover Committee.
