Sports
RSG Pledges To Support Rivers Hoopers …As They Get N30m Reward
Four-time Nigerian Basketball League champions, Rivers Hoopers were hosted by Rivers State Governor, Similanayi Fubara on Friday where he assured the team of its continued support.
This followed their victorious outing at the second edition of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship in Lagos in September, the Rivers State Government rewarded the KingsMen with the sum of thirty million naira (N30,000,000).
Governor Similanayi Fubara made the pronouncement when the Commissioner for Sports, Christopher Green, led the management and players of the team to hand over the trophy to the Governor at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.
He said with the support given to the team, it is also expected of them to keep working hard with discipline to win.
“It is not just about giving you the endowment in terms of financial support, but it is also good to see that the contributions of the management and the players themselves collectively contributed to the success of the team. So, I say thank you.”
“What you are doing today serves as a message to the youths constituting a nuisance and perpetuating all forms of criminality to make them realise that they are wasting their energies as opposed to deploying them towards useful ventures for the benefit of our State.”
The Governor commended the Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Christopher Green for effectively managing the team to achieve results.
In his speech Green applauded the Governor for rewarding hard work because the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club won all six games and also beat Ghana’s Spintex Knights to emerge winners of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball competition in Lagos.
For Nigeria, Nesiama’s selection signals more than representation, it represents recognition.
Nesiama, now chairs the Technical and Development Commission of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), told The Guardian on Friday that he will continue to shape the technical direction of Nigerian sport, if given the chance to do so.
At the heart of the protest are allegations that up to nine players fielded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo violated domestic nationality laws that prohibit dual citizenship. Nigeria lost the decisive playoff on penalties in Morocco, a result that initially sent DR Congo to the intercontinental playoffs.
Monday’s decision could prove pivotal, determining which country claims Africa’s lone slot in next month’s intercontinental playoff against the winner of Jamaica and New Caledonia, scheduled to hold in Mexico in March 2026.
The NFF’s petition specifically names players including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, arguing that they were wrongly cleared to represent DR Congo despite reportedly holding European passports, contrary to Congolese law.
NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi said Nigeria’s case is backed by verifiable documentation.
“The petition covers nine DR Congo players. FIFA was misled into clearing them because it does not interpret domestic citizenship laws. Congolese law forbids dual nationality, yet some of the players involved allegedly hold foreign passports. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent,” he stated.
Nigerian officials also cite FIFA’s recent sanctions against Malaysia as evidence that the world football body treats player eligibility violations with utmost seriousness when supported by credible proof.
Meanwhile, unease persists within Nigerian football circles over the reported role of Véron Mosengo-Omba, Secretary General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), a Swiss-Congolese national and close associate of FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Sources allege that officials from DR Congo and other Francophone nations are exerting influence within FIFA to secure a favourable outcome, amid fears that the strength of Nigeria’s evidence could tilt the verdict.
With both Nigeria and DR Congo reportedly prepared to approach the Court of Arbitration for Sport if dissatisfied with FIFA’s ruling, the governing body is said to be treating the case with exceptional caution to avoid legal and reputational fallout.
The stakeholders are also worried that since the Main Organising Committee (MOC) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) met in September last year, the LOC has not met again to continue work on the festival.
The MOC and the LOC met on September 15, 2026 and agreed on early preparations for the Festival.
Among other things, members were updated on the state of the facilities and ongoing construction works after which they agreed to meet again in October 2025 to further assess readiness and provide guidance as preparations advance.
Among the facilities slated for the games is the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, which the LOC said would be revamped comprehensively to make it “unrecognisable.”
The LOC also said that a brand new multi-purpose games village will be constructed at the Awgu Games Village site, while a new Olympic-sized swimming pool would be built for the games.
But some stakeholders said yesterday that since the last meeting in 2025, members of the LOC have not been carried along “and we don’t know what is going on.”
A stakeholder at the NSC told The Guardian yesterday that Enugu State has “kept everybody in the dark and we don’t know what is going on.”
The stakeholder, who pleaded anonymity, said: “They are supposed to build a swimming pool for the festival, but up till now work has not started on the facility.
“When we asked some members of the LOC they told us that they could not give us any answer, and alleging that they were not being carried along.
“We are supposed to start test running some of these facilities as early as June if they are to be used for the festival.
“What we hear that Enugu State is busy recruiting athletes from Delta and Edo states as they want to win the festival. It is good to strive to win the games, but it should also put the facilities in place first.”
Reacting to the complaints, Enugu State Commissioner for Sports, Llyod Ekweremadu, said: “Let me assure the sporting public there is nothing to worry about. The work is going to be done. The primary work has already been done and the facilities will be available ahead of the Festival. There shouldn’t be cause for concern.”
He acknowledged that work has not yet started on the swimming pool, adding, however, that “construction would soon start and it would be completed ahead of schedule.”
On the complaints by some LOC members that they are not being carried along, Ekweremadu said that he is not aware of any members not being carried along.
“We have a platform where we all communicate. So, if there’s anybody that feels such a way, it has not been communicated on that platform or to me directly. So I’m not aware of that.”
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