President Muhammadu Buhari has Federal has approved the immediate withdrawal of Nigerian nationals teams from all international basketball competitions for a two years with immediate effect.

This was disclosed in a communique by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development on Thursday in Abuja.

The decision to suspend the country from participating in any international tournaments for two years was due to the unending leadership crises in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

Two parallel national federation board elections were held in 2017 (in Kano and Abuja) and 2022 (in Benin and Abuja), leading to the emergence of separate governing bodies.

Nigeria women‘s team D’Tigress have already qualified for this year’s World Cup in Australia which will run from September to October this year.

“Following the unending crisis which have plagued and nearly crippled the development of basketball in Nigeria, President Buhari has approved the withdrawal of Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for a period of two years. This is with immediate effect.

“This will also allow for the setting up of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to oversee the management and development of the domestic basketball leagues in Nigeria,” he said.

“In issuing the order, the Federal Government reiterates its interest and commitment to the development of the sport of basketball in Nigeria as well as huge talents of our youth domestically in an atmosphere free of rancour and squabbles.

“Government therefore calls on players, officials, fans and other stakeholders of the sport to remain calm as it embarks on far-reaching initiatives to reposition, sustain and stabilise the game of basketball.

“This will aid in the growth and success of the sport in the long-term interest of the country.”