By Gabriel Kekong
While Nigerians await purported Fiba’s ban as championed by the supporters of the outgone President of the NBBF, Ahmed Musa Kida, Nigerian Sports Advanced Group (NSAG) and former board members of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) have called on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged personal N3bn spent by Kida within his four years tenure.
A basketball stakeholder, Abba Kaka Abdulkadir had in an Africa Independent Television’s sports program monitored by this reporter claimed that the outgone President of NBBF Engr. Musa Kida spent over N3bn from his personal pocket to sponsor the activities of the game in the country within the four years he held sway in the federation.
Abba Kaka also claimed that the ministry was able to refund him (Kida) with half of the N3bn.
But the President of NSAG, Charles Offiong has said that the claim by Abba Kaka that Kida spent over N3bn from his personal pocket was false and called the EFCC to investigate such claim, adding that if Kida had spent such money as claimed then basketball would have gain momentum in the country even more than football.
“How would somebody come on a live television program and tell such a lie. What did Kida use the money for?
“If Kida had invested his pocket, why are we not seeing evidence on the ground or did he use it to better the lives of his cronies and claimed it was invested in the basketball,” Offiong queried.
In the same vein, some of the board members who spoke to this paper under the condition of anonymity claimed that Kida did not spend a dime from his pocket to sponsor any event of the basketball rather some of the board members spent their hard-earned money and were not refunded.
They also called on the EFCC to invite all of them who served on the NBBF under Kida so that they can unravel the mystery behind the N3bn and other funds not remitted to the D’Tigress.
According to one of the board members under Kida-led NBBF, “I am surprised to hear that Kida spent over N3bn from his pocket to finance basketball activities in the country. He injected such money into basketball and yet our league went into comatose within the period in view.
“Besides, who approved the use of the said money if at all he actually spent it, What about the money some board members spent, what happened to it?
The question now is, the alleged N3bn spent by Kida according to Kaka, what was it used for?
