16th June, 2010
Bisi Joseph, Secretary-General of the Nigeria Schools Sports Federation, NSSF, has stated that the federation will not spare any school found cheating or using mercenaries in the ongoing Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship.
She said the federation has zero-tolerance for cheating, hence the decision to disqualify Bayelsa State’s representatives for fielding ineligible players at the just concluded Atlantic Conference in Enugu, Nigeria .
Throwing more light on the disqualification of Bayelsa State’s representatives, the federation’s Public Relations Officer, Kudu Biu Omar, stated that it was discovered during the screening, before the commencement of the Atlantic Conference, that most of the Bayelsa boys were not students, rather they played for a team.
Meanwhile, Ebonyi and Enugu states have secured places in the grand finale of this year’s championship, while the number of teams expected in the Lagos finals has continued to increase, with Adamawa and Kano qualifying from the Savannah Conference finals.
The girls and boys teams from Adamawa and Kano emerged champions during the final of the Savannah Conference held in Kano last week. Adamawa’s Government Girls Secondary School defeated Zamfara’s Government Girls Day Secondary School by 18-16 points in the girls’ final of the Savannah Conference. But efforts by the Adamawa male team to be at the grand finale was halted as Yola-based General Murtala Mohammed College fell to the host team, Ahmadiya College of Kano by 85-79 points.
The regional finals will move to the Western and Central Conferences on Friday. The ancient city of Ibadan, Oyo State will host the Western Conference, while Ilorin, Kwara State hosts teams from Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Abuja, Niger, Plateau, Benue and Gombe states.
Teams that will compete at the Western Conference in Ibadan are Edo, Delta, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Kogi states. The regional finals of the Central and Western Conferences will hold from 18-24 June.
—Wale Joseph