Drama as Bash Ali paralyses activities at NEXIM bank

Bash Ali

 There was mild drama on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank as Nigeria’s boxing champion, Bash Ali and his supporters barricaded the bank.

Ali, who stormed the bank with his supporters around 12pm paralysed businesses activities of the bank for almost five hours.

Ali said he was protesting the failure of the bank to provide N150m to facilitate the hosting of his  world Guinness book of record fight project.

The National Sports Commission had in January inaugurated the Local Organising Committee for his proposed Guinness World Book of Records’ title fight.

The then NSC Chairman, Bolaji Abdullahi had during the inauguration of the 14-man committee, tasked the members on ensuring the successful project of staging the fight within the first quarter of 2014.

But an enraged Ali who had visited the bank accused its Managing Director of frustrating the title fight.

He alleged that since the bank is part of the corporate organisation among the Local Organising Committee, it ought to have made the fund available for the fight.

He said, that “Orya who was and still 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.”

But Orya said the bank cannot give N150m which Bash Ali was requesting noting that the bank was not set up to provide funding for sporting activities.

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