By Andrew Abah
The chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and President, Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engineer Musa Kida-led has saluted the performance of the Super Eagles despite their semifinal loss to hosts Morocco.
Kida in a letter to the players commended the entire team for standing up to the highest ranked nation on the African continent.
For Kida, it was rather a tournament to remember as Nigeria entered the 2025 AFCON under lot of pressure following the 2026 FIFA World Cup miss but became the most clinical side winning their first five games in regulation time until the semifinal where it was almost the whole continent versus Nigeria.
”We entered this tournament under immense pressure and emerged as the only team to win all five matches in regulation time before the semi-final. We scored fourteen goals—the highest in the competition. Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams, and Alex Iwobi formed an attacking quartet that terrorised defences across Morocco. Stanley Nwabali stood like a fortress between the posts, and our defence, marshalled superbly by Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi, gave everything they had.” Kida added.
Kida also revealed that as the Chairman of NNPCL, in collaboration with the National Institute for Sports (NIS), National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), he is poised to bridge the relationship between the Nigerian corporate sector and the sports industry through people driven sports initiatives and strategic partnerships citing his achievements in Nigerian Basketball as a worthy template.
”When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu honoured me with the appointment as Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in April 2025, I saw it as an opportunity to expand the bridge between Nigeria’s corporate sector and our sports development ecosystem. At NNPCL, we believe that investing in Nigerian sports is not philanthropy, it is nation-building. It is youth empowerment. It is an economic development.
Our vision at NNPCL is for Nigerians, especially the youth, to feel the same joy when they think of NNPCL as they do when the Super Eagles score a goal at a tournament. That vision extends beyond basketball, where we have already seen the transformative power of sustained investment. It extends to football, athletics, and every sport where Nigerian talent can shine.
I have seen what a strategic partnership can achieve. Under my tenure at the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have worked tirelessly to build systems, not just sponsor events. D’Tigress have won five consecutive AfroBasket titles. They became the first African team to reach the women’s basketball quarter-finals at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. D’Tigers made history by defeating Team USA in 2021, the first time an African nation achieved such a feat.
These achievements did not happen by accident. They came from consistent investment
in player development, coaching infrastructure, and administrative excellence.” He explained.
Kida also called on all Nigerians both home and abroad to rally behind the Super Eagles head of tomorrow’s third place match against Egypt as a golden bronze is more worthy than a silver medal.
”I call every Nigerian to rally behind our team once more. Let us fill our homes, our viewing centres, and our hearts with the green-white-green. Let us show our players that win or lose, Nigeria stands with them.”
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