The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has included 300 million nm received from the River State Government into its gifts rather than payment for its custodial rights of its 2025 Annual General Assembly (AGC).
AGC Programme Committee Chairman Emeka Obegolu clarified this in a statement on Monday, April 14, as it became increasingly controversial after the NBA decided to move the meeting from Harcourt Port to Enugu.
Under the leadership of the sole Chief Executive Ibok-Ete Ibas, the River State Government demanded the refund of the money and alleged that it was paid for the right to preside over the meeting. The government said that if the NBA truly adheres to its openly advocated principle, the funds should be returned. The request was originally scheduled for Port Harcourt after the NBA relocated the AGC, citing the River State’s violation of the Constitution after President Bola Tinubu declared emergency rule in March.
In response to the administration’s claims, the NBA insisted that River State was chosen as the host country and rejected the suggestion of paying the money for any such rights. “We would like to clarify that the decision of the 2025 AGC in Harcourt Port was taken in August 2024 and is not subject to any bidding process or payment of any custody rights.”
“The host country has no custody rights and no representative of the NBA has to hold meetings in selected cities. Traditionally, due to the huge cost of hosting the AGC, the NBA Conference Planning Committee is close to organizations, the government agencies of the government seek help from the support agencies of the national government and ask for support, and has nothing to do with host rights and is closely related to any NBA.”
The association further explained that past meetings have been supported by various state governments and organizations as part of the corporate social responsibility effort. “The recent NBA meetings have 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,” the statement continued.
“Such financial support is in the form of gifts, partnerships or sponsorships. Money from Rivers is a gift and is not associated with any right to claim NBA AGC hosting.”
