By our sports reporter 24.9.2026
Nigerian basketball legend Olumide Oyedeji is one of the stakeholders gunning to be the Nigeria Basketball Federation president in the upcoming elections next month.
And former D’Tigers coach, Ayodele Bakare has called for a facts-based assessment of his record as well as those of other candidates vying for the job. Bakare argued that Olumide should be assessed through his individual responsibilities, documented achievements and specific contributions rather than through his association with previous administrations.
According to Bakare who is also the owner of Comets Basketball Club, Oyedeji has spent more than two decades serving Nigerian basketball in different capacities, beginning with his playing career and extending into administration, grassroots development and youth empowerment.
He noted that Oyedeji’s basketball experience stretches from domestic league competition and Nigeria’s national teams at various age-grade levels to the World Cup and Olympic Games, while his administrative involvement has included state associations, the NBBF, the Nigeria Olympic Committee and international basketball structures.
Bakare also highlighted Oyedeji’s long-running grassroots programmes, including basketball camps across cities such as Kano, Jos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Osogbo, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Abeokuta, Akure and Lagos.
Other initiatives mentioned include the Rising Stars Basketball Championship, National Intercollegiate Basketball Championship and Hoops & Read Basketball Club.
His involvement in club basketball was also cited, particularly the Dolphins Basketball Club, which won the 2025/2026 Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League.
However, Bakare stressed that Oyedeji’s lengthy record should not place him beyond scrutiny.
Oyedeji was part of the NBBF leadership structure during the 2017 crisis and later served as the South-West representative on the board elected in 2022.
Bakare argued that his participation in those administrations should therefore prompt specific questions about the responsibilities assigned to him, the decisions he was authorised to make, the decisions he personally took and the outcomes of those responsibilities.
Among the initiatives attributed to Oyedeji’s period as League Chairman were measures concerning player welfare, salary payments, scheduling and improved recovery periods for teams.
His tenure was also linked to welfare and professional considerations for referees, statisticians and match commissioners, as well as sponsorship initiatives involving Peak and the All-Star Games.
Bakare further pointed to the expansion of the women’s league into five phases involving Abuja, Kaduna, Asaba, Ibadan and Lagos, with 18 teams participating, alongside the Kwese Elite Future Camp, which brought experienced and emerging coaches together.
“Whether one agrees with every decision made during those years or not, these are specific initiatives that can be examined, verified and debated,” Bakare said in a statement.
The same approach, Bakare said, should apply to Oyedeji’s involvement in the Musa Kida-led administration, insisting that board membership alone should not be interpreted as personal responsibility for every decision or controversy.
“If someone has evidence that Mr. Oyedeji personally made a particular decision, mishandled a particular responsibility, or was personally responsible for a particular failure, then let that evidence be presented and examined,” the statement said.
Bakare maintained that the principle should apply equally to every aspirant seeking to lead Nigerian basketball.
He called for candidates to be subjected to the same standard of scrutiny, with delegates and stakeholders given the opportunity to assess documented records, experience, responsibilities and proposed ideas.
The discussion comes as attention increasingly turns to the forthcoming NBBF leadership contest, with the federation’s future direction and administration expected to remain major talking points among stakeholders.
Bakare’s position is that the debate should remain centred on verifiable records and individual accountability rather than collective blame.