President of the African Public Interest Lawyers Union, Andrew Emwanta, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to refund the ₦300 million it received from the Rivers State Government for its 2025 Annual General Conference, stating that doing so would protect the integrity and image of the legal profession.
Speaking on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Emwanta said the gift, although termed “a gesture of support,” has now become controversial due to the political developments in Rivers State and the NBA’s decision to move the conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
“There is no proper way to do the wrong thing,” he said. “The proper thing to do, to save the image of our profession, is for that money to be refunded. It’s Rivers taxpayers’ money. If you are not doing business with them, return their money.”
Double Standards?
The legal practitioner questioned the NBA’s motivation and urgency in condemning the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, which led to the removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
“Barely two hours after the broadcast, the NBA condemned the move. I felt that was hasty,” Emwanta said, accusing the body of aligning itself with Fubara’s faction.
“Now that the NBA is refusing to host its conference in Rivers State, what happens to the money already spent on hotel bookings and logistics? The honourable thing to do is to refund the ₦300 million.”
Emwanta also raised concerns about perceived ethnic bias in the NBA’s choice of Enugu as the new conference venue, saying, “Why Enugu? Why not Abuja? There’s now an ethnic reading to this. The NBA President is from Anambra. The profession must protect itself; there is a moral question to it.”
‘A Gift Not Hosting Rights
In response, the Chairman of the NBA 2025 Conference Planning Committee, Emeka Obegolu (SAN), stated that the ₦300 million was not a payment for hosting rights but an unconditional gift to support the event.
“The decision to hold the 2025 conference in Port Harcourt was made in August 2024 and was not based on any financial contribution from the Rivers State Government,” he said in a statement.
Obegolu explained that the Planning Committee usually seeks financial support from various bodies due to the scale of the event but clarified that such contributions do not equate to hosting rights. “Even with such gifts, there is no representation that the conference must be held in the donor city,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Government has expressed readiness to host the event. The chairperson of the State Tourism Board, Rita Mbah, assured lawyers of a “memorable and seamless experience” at the newly commissioned Enugu International Conference Centre.
However, the Rivers State Government, now under the administration of retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, expressed disappointment over the NBA’s decision to relocate the event. In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Administrator, Hector Igbikiowubo, the state government described the NBA’s justification for the move as “misleading, uncharitable, and unbecoming.”
“The NBA’s statement overlooks the constitutional basis for the current administration in Rivers State,” the statement read. “The declaration of a state of emergency was a necessary response to a breakdown of public order and democratic processes.”
The controversy over the ₦300 million has added a fresh layer to the ongoing political tensions in Rivers State following President Bola Tinubu’s March 2025 declaration of emergency rule.
