Bash Ali Replies Sports Minister, Says I Didn’t Manipulate Facts About World Title Fight

World Boxing Federation (WBF) champion, Bashiru Lawrence Ali, OON, has replied the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare that at no time did he misrepresent facts and manipulate information on the Federal Government’s support and approval for the proposed Guinness Book of World Record Boxing Championship which Nigeria will be hosting very soon.

A letter purportedly written by the Director of Legal Services of the Ministry of Sports on behalf of the Minister last week allegedly berated Ali, popularly called Bash Ali, for making false claims about the non-existence of government’s approval for the world title fight. The letter also informed that there was no directive from the President that the Minister should meet with Bash Ali to discuss about the world title fight.

But in his reply to the Minister through a letter dated 12 January, 2020, Bash Ali rhetorically asked Sunday Dare: “Why is it when a Nigerian stands up to do something great in Nigeria, the number one opponents are  the Nigerians who are supposed to help him or her? But when out of frustration, the Nigerian goes ahead and becomes successful; Nigerians will be the first to say “this is our own”.

Bash Ali then wondered that “for President Muhammadu Buhari  not through a third party  but to have personally directed you to meet with me on  the matters of the world title fight shows that Mr. President appreciates my patriotism, tenacity, and my Nigerian spirit of never give up.

The world champion emphatically informed the Minister in his letter that when on 4 November, 2019 he met the Minister in his office in Abuja, he (Dare) told him that “the fight is no longer Bash Ali’s fight but the Government’s. You said in as much as Mr. President has directed you to host this historic fight, it would not be good for the appeal court case be pending and that if you do not advise Mr. President correctly, that Malami (Minister of Justice) would, so it would be best for us to settle out of Appeal Court so we can plan how to successfully host the historic event.”

Ali  said that he left the Minister’s office with happiness and instructed his lawyers to perfect all documents for the out of court settlement which was quickly done and passed to the Minister since seven weeks ago. Unfortunately, what he received from the Minister was the letter from the Director of Legal Services.

Bash Ali, however, noted that he would not want to join issues with the Minister or any mischief maker who wants to truncate the smooth organisation of the fight as directed by the President, he would want Sunday Dare to execute the directive which he said he received from Mr. President with deliberate speed.

He said:  “I am respectively asking you to move with deliberate speed to approve the terms of out of court settlement on your table so your lawyers can withdraw the matter and pave the way for the hosting of the first Guinness World Record Boxing Championship fight to hold on the soil of Africa.

“I am also respectfully  asking you to move with deliberate speed  to arrange for me a courtesy visit  to President Buhari  to show my appreciation by officially presenting  to him the Guinness  World Record  Boxing Fight souvenirs  and a special  boxing glove  to knock out corruption in Nigeria.”