• The Sun man, Apu appointed administrative secretary

The reconstituted board of the FIBA Africa Zone 3 for the 2014-2019 term has been inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by the sports minister of Burkina Faso, Col Yacouba Ouedraogo at the Hotel Soritel.
The minister while inaugurating the Zone 3 executive board stated that the Burkinabe government are elated to host the new board and urged them to work hard to make the Zone the template for excellent administration by their programmes and competitions.
President of the board,  Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) of Nigeria in response promised that his executive board is ready to work for the growth of the game of basketball in the zone. He noted that the time for politics is over and that the time to work is now.
“Members of this Zone 3 executive board are committed to the development to developing the zone in all its ramification. Everyone on board already understand that the task ahead is not an easy one but we’re all determined to give our best,” he said. Other members of the Zone 3 executive board include Engr. Musa Kida of Nigeria as vice president, Bah Florient of Cote d’ Ivoire (secretary general), Guebre Boukary (Burkina Faso), Coffi Torno (Benin Republic), Idrissou Gamel Ayambire (Ghana), Musa Adamu (Cote d’ Ivoire), Mrs. Magaret Abarah (Nigeria) and Lima Sidonie (Benin Rep). However, Joseph Apu (Nigeria) will serve as administrative secretary to the board.
The reconstitution of the board is as a result of the nominees sent in by the various national federations after the successful election of Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) in Madagascar in July by a voice vote of all the countries that saw him succeeding fellow Nigerian, Muktar Kaleh who is the immediate past president of the Zone and now president of the finance council of FIBA Africa.
The inauguration was immediately followed by a meeting of all national federations presidents that make up the zone comprising of Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire and Niger Republic. Liberia, which is the eight country that make up Zone 3 were unavoidably absent as they excused themselves in line with the preventive measures of the Ebola virus disease that is currently ravaging their country.
Meanwhile, Basketball writer and columnist of the Sun Publishing Limited, Joseph Apu has been appointed the administrative secretary of the FIBA Africa Zone 3 board which was reconstituted in Burkina Faso on Monday.
Apu, an astute follower of the game has been involved with the game of basketball since 1988 when he was writing for the then SportsWorld magazine and later the national Sportslink newspapers before heading to Vanguard SportsNow, the Post Express and Vanguard newspapers from where he joined the Sun.
He is also a strong voice in basketball administration in Nigeria and is the current secretary of Dodan Warriors Basketball Club of Lagos, a team that competes in the DSTV Premier League in Nigeria.

FIBA Africa Zone 3 board inauguarated in Burkina Faso