Information minister says NBBF can become Nigeria’s best soon

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has the human and material resources to become the best sports federation in the country very soon, Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed says.

The minister who said this Tuesday in Abuja at the federation’s “Awards/Dinner 2016’’ noted that this should not be a surprise given the federation’s giant strides.

“I am not only impressed by the humility of the federation’s President, Tijani Umar who has shown so much dexterity in the way he has gone about leading the sport in Nigeria, but also by the way the federation has been giving honour to those who deserve them.

“The federation has at this occasion honoured both the living and the dead, and that is a very unique act.

“It helps in setting the tone of the future, and I can say that NBBF will soon overtake the rest of the federations to become the number one sports federation in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mohammed was a guest at the event which was designed to honour several individuals and groups who had contributed immensely to the sport.

Special awards were given to coaches, players and administratos, both living and dead, who had distinguished themselves in the sport over the years.

The late coaches, players and administrators included Chris Obojememe, Danjuma Danazumi, Lemmy Harry, Roland Swade, Mohammed Acha and Segun Erinle.

Administrators such as Ibrahim Galadima, C.O. Williams, Sen. U.K. Umar, Buba Gyang and Francis Gbiri were also given special awards.

Justice Nasiru Ajanah, Farid Abou Hassan, Sen. David Mark and Zenith Bank Plc were also honoured for their outstanding moral and financial support to the sport in Nigeria.

For the conventional awards, Dele Ademola of Kano Pillars won the Male Player of the Year award, while First Bank’s Upe Atosu won the Female Player of the Year award.

First Bank also won the Female Team of the Year award, Kano Pillars the Male Team of the Year, and Ajibarede Bello the Outstanding Match Commissioner of the Year.

Iyoha Obehi also won the Young Referee of the Year award, while Joseph Adeyemo of Kwara won the State Chairman of the Year award.

Ifunaya Okoye of First Deepwater of Lagos won the Female Young Player of the Year award, while Oriakhi Owen of Hoops and Read Basketball Academy won the award’s male version.

Speaking earlier at the awards, NBBF President Tijani Umar said the event was designed to help elevate the basketball sport in Nigeria for better results.

“We have really come a long way, and the results of recent years show this. But we still have another long way to go, in order to achieve more as we go on.

“Now, we need to raise the level of our inputs in order to get better results, and there is no better way than to honour those who have done well in the area of making sacrifices and other contributions to the growth of the game.

“That way, we can be assured of more positive contributions as we go along,’’ he said.