NBBF owes me almost N80m – Bakare

Former D’Tigers coach, Ayo Bakare, has shockingly revealed that the Nigeria Basketball Federation owes him close to N80m.

At a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Bakare said contrary to insinuations by those he termed ‘NBBF supporters’, he was not lashing out at the president of the basketball body, Tijjani Umar, because of the money he was owed or because he was not made coach of the national team.

Rather, the former national team coach said he was “pained to drag the current president (of NBBF) and his administration into the public domain as a last resort to save Nigerian basketball from the decay they have foisted and continue to visit upon it.”

Bakare said his claim was backed by “written and other factual evidences” despite the federation’s insistence that it owes him N60m. He added that the NBBF has continuously refused to acknowledge the said amount, which he claimed it owed him between 2011 and 2013.

He stated, “It is an incontrovertible fact that the NBBF owe me and third parties connected to me a significant amount of money. However, what has made this particular episode contentious is the cunning and unconscionable manner in which Mr. Umar has treated it, which has made an amicable resolution impossible so far. “The president personally took possession of all the relevant documents on behalf of the NBBF. The amounts of these loans have never been disputed over the years when the creditors were enjoined by Umar to patiently wait for money to be released by the National Sports Commission.

“Suddenly, the figures have now become the subject of debate with every cunning and time-wasting permutation thrown into the works. Up till now, the NBBF has refused to acknowledge the debts formally in writing. After a lot of pressure, they sent an unsigned letter acknowledging the debt on a blank non-letterhead paper.

“After some more pressure, they sent another one, this time signed by the Secretary-General but still on a blank non-letterhead paper. Both letters significantly understated the debt amounts. Several written requests made by us to be availed the working papers involved in the calculations arrived at by the NBBF have been arrogantly ignored.

“By the NBBF’s own admission, the debts come to around N60m, although the true figure is closer to N80m.”

The former NBBF Technical Director lamented the state of Nigerian basketball saying the only sponsors of the men and women’s topflight leagues, Multichoice and Zenith Bank, came on board under the past administration of Buba Gyang.

“Mr. Umar’s administration has failed to market the assets of the federation in a way that would make Nigerian basketball more attractive and bring in other sponsors.”

Source: The Punch