Bash Ali disrupts activities at NEXIM Bank

                               
Nigeria’s professional boxer, Bash Ali, and his supporters yesterday barricaded the headquarters of Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) over the alleged failure of the bank to provide N150 million sponsorship to facilitate the hosting of his world Guinness book of record fight project.

His action paralysed business activities of the bank for almost five hours.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) had in January inaugurated the Local Organising Committee for his proposed Guinness World Book of Records’ title fight.

Former Sports Minister and Chairman of the NSC, Bolaji Abdullahi, had during the inauguration of the 14-man committee, tasked the members on ensuring the successful staging of  the fight within the first quarter of 2014.
But a rather frustrated Ali visited the bank and accused its Managing Director, Mr. Roberts Orya, of trying to scuttle the title fight.
He said since the bank was part of the corporate organisations on the LOC of the project, it ought to have made the fund available for the fight.
But Orya said the bank could not provide N150 million which boxer was requesting, noting that the bank was not set up to provide funding for charity and sporting activities.

He said:”I have been receiving all sorts of abusive text messages from his men. The chap said I am under obligation to give them money. I am not a member of the LOC but a member of staff, Mr.Kadiri Suleiman was mandated to represent the bank.
“It got to a stage last year that Bash Ali stormed here with large crowd saying the federal government has asked his committee to take N150m from NEXIM Bank.

According to him: “Funding of sport is not the mandate of the bank, if a Nigerian engaged in sports and a government agency we want to support, there is a level to which we support under Corporate Social Responsibility.  We don’t have obligation to support Bash Ali.”
Orya said the nomination of the bank as member of LOC was not a directive but a solicitation and l left the institution with a choice to decline giving N150 million.

But according to the boxer:”Orya who was and still remains a member of LOC set up by President Goodluck Jonathan has refused to do what he is supposed to do four months into the inauguration.”
He claimed he doesn’t have the mandate of Mr. President. We have called several meetings where he showed up and some other times he sent a representative. I got here and he said I should show him a copy of mandate from Mr. President.”