By Adenike Lawal
The Nigerian Bar Association is under fire over a ₦300 million donation from the Rivers State Government, with calls mounting for the legal body to refund the sum following its abrupt decision to move its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
Leading the charge is Andrew Emwanta, President of the African Public Interest Lawyers Union, who insists that the NBA must return the money to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s legal profession.
He issued the demand during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, warning that the association risks eroding public trust by holding onto the funds amid rising political tension in Rivers State.
“There is no noble way to do the wrong thing,” Emwanta declared. “That ₦300 million belongs to the people. If the NBA is no longer holding its event in Rivers, then it must refund the donation. Anything short of that reeks of double standards.”
The fallout follows the recent removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the controversial declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
Emwanta accused the NBA of aligning itself too quickly with political forces opposed to the new leadership, saying its swift condemnation of the emergency rule betrayed a lack of neutrality.
He further questioned the NBA’s decision to relocate the conference to Enugu, a state bordering the NBA President’s home state of Anambra. “Why not Abuja, a truly neutral ground?” he asked. “This move will fuel ethnic and political speculation. The NBA should lead by example, not feed division.”
But in a sharp rebuttal, the NBA Conference Planning Committee Chairman, Emeka Obegolu (SAN), dismissed the controversy.
He explained that the ₦300 million was a voluntary contribution with no strings attached.
“The NBA made its decision to host in Port Harcourt long before the donation came in. The funds were not a payment for hosting rights,” he clarified.
Obegolu added that the NBA routinely receives support from stakeholders and that changing the venue was a matter of logistics and safety, not politics.
Still, tensions are high. Rivers State’s new leadership under retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas is fuming.
The administration’s spokesperson, Hector Igbikiowubo, slammed the NBA’s decision as “misleading and unbecoming,” accusing the body of deliberately ignoring the legal basis for the change in government.
Meanwhile, Enugu State has rolled out the red carpet, with the State Tourism Board promising a world-class experience at the newly launched Enugu International Conference Centre.
What was once a gesture of goodwill has now snowballed into a fierce debate about transparency, partisanship, and the soul of Nigeria’s legal community.
At the center is one burning question: Can the NBA still claim moral authority while holding on to ₦300 million meant for a conference it no longer plans to host in Rivers State?
