The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has firmly refuted the claim by Ibokette Ibas (RTD), the only Chief Executive of Rivers State, that the state has paid 300 million to pay the custody of the 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC), and the country has now relocated to the enugu state.
In a statement released Monday, the NBA addressed IBAS’s need for so-called refunds of funds, clarifying that the $300 million from Rivers State is a gift, not a gift related to any host rights of the conference.
The NBA dismissed the allegations through its meeting planning committee chair Emeka Obegolu (SAN), noting that it was the standard procedure for the NBA to seek financial support for its AGC activities.
The statement explained that such support is completely unconditional and has nothing to do with any right to preside over the meeting.
“The attention of the annual conference planning committee has been drawn to a statement from the Administrator of Rivers State that the Rivers State government has paid custody rights to custody the custody rights of NBA AGC 2025.” Statement reading.
continue, “We would like to clarify that the decision to host the 2025 AGC in Portharcourt was held in August 2024 and is not subject to any bidding process or payment of any custody rights.
“The host country has no right to custody and no representative in the NBA must hold meetings in selected cities.
“Traditionally, due to the huge costs involved in hosting AGC, the NBA Conference Planning Committee seeks support from government and state government organizations and agencies, and the requested support is unconditional and has nothing to do with hosting rights or any rights.
“The recent NBA conference has been supported by different state governments, corporate organizations, ministries, departments and agencies, with budgets that accommodate corporate social responsibility and share the same vision as the NBA.
“Such financial support is in the form of gifts, partnerships or sponsorships.
“The money from Rivers State is a gift that is not tied to anyone who is allegedly a custodial right of the NBA AGC.
“We are committed to holding world-class conferences to members of the Bar Association and will not cause any unnecessary controversy on this issue.”
Naija News The report said the controversy occurred after the NBA National Executive Committee (NEC) decided to transfer the location of the 2025 AGC from Harcourt Port to Enugu.
The decision was based on what the NBA described in Rivers State as a series of undemocratic actions, including the IBAS appointment as the sole administrator, which the NBA believes is illegal.
The NBA accused the IBA of “not punishing the rule of law” and believed that retaining the river state as the site would implicitly recognize constitutional violations and subvert the rule of law.
In view of these developments, the NBA stressed that its decision to relocate the meeting stems from its commitment to upholding the principles of rule of law and democracy.
