The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has been given the go-ahead by the Sports Ministry to resume the Men’s Premier Basketball League following the resolution of a yearslong court case that grounded the competition.

This Sports Ministry’s greenlight follows the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out the case by the Management Board of Kwese Basketball League challenging the authority of the NBBF to organise the Premier League.

Addressing the recent development, a letter signed by Dr Simon Ebhojiaye on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Nebeolisa Anako, said “With this positive judgment, the NBBF is permitted to commence any tournament (Premier League) in the country.”

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports in the letter noted that “On the 26th January 2021, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja struck out the above case (FHC/ABJ/CS/1317/2019) which was instituted against the NBBF and the Honorable Minister.”

The NBBF said in a statement that it has intensified its hunt for prospective sponsors of the Men’s Premier League after Kwese withdrew from Nigeria business space due to financial reasons.

The men’s apex league has not been organised since 2018 when the trio of the Kwese Management board, Chairman of Gombe Bulls, Ibrahim Sa’ad and that of Kwara Falcons, Dr Joseph Adeyemo instituted legal proceedings seeking to stop the NBBF from organizing the league.