Dikko stands firm against NBBF board resignation calls

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, has turned down calls for the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) board to resign after D’Tigress had a disappointing outing at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany.

D’Tigress lost all three of their Group B matches and got knocked out in the first round. Their campaign ended with a heavy 111, 56 defeat to France.

This poor performance has raised questions about how well the team prepared, the administration, and the future of the NBBF. Some stakeholders are asking for the Musa Kida-led board to step down with only a few weeks to their election.

But Dikko has pushed back against this idea. He believes that changes in leadership must follow the right procedures and respect the rules set by international sports bodies.

"We cannot just wake up and start disbanding boards," Dikko said. He emphasized that Nigeria needs to consider the stance of FIBA, the world basketball governing body.

"Whatever we do must be done in collaboration with FIBA. We cannot just wake up and start disbanding boards. While Nigerian law gives certain powers, we must also respect the international body because we want to continue participating in international competitions."

Dikko also cautioned that any hasty actions could lead to sanctions against Nigeria, which might prevent the country from participating in international basketball events.

"If we dabble into the matter improperly and Nigeria gets banned from participating at the World Cup, what happens?" he asked.

Dikko believes that the poor World Cup performance should not automatically lead to the removal of the NBBF leadership, especially since the federation is already preparing for an election.

FIBA has recognized that the current NBBF board's mandate runs until October 15, 2026, with a new leadership set to take over on October 16.

Dikko’s view means that the election is the proper way to change leadership, rather than a mass resignation like what happened with the NFF.

The collapse of D’Tigress at the World Cup marks a significant setback for a team that was seen as Africa's top women's basketball team.

Nigeria had won a record fifth consecutive Women’s AfroBasket title in 2025 and reached the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Because of this, expectations were high for the World Cup, making their winless run in Germany all the more disappointing.

These results have sparked questions about whether the NBBF did enough to prepare the team and if there are deeper administrative or technical issues that led to the poor performance.

Dikko, however, insists that the federation did its job in getting the team ready and should not face a leadership change because of the World Cup results.

The NSC has also confirmed that D’Tigress players and officials have received the naira equivalent of the $100,000 presidential reward promised after their triumph at AfroBasket 2025.

With the NBBF election coming up, attention is expected to shift from calls for resignation to ensuring the electoral process is credible and looking at who will make up the next board.