Rivers State sole Administrator illegitimacy: NBA moves conference from PH State to Enugu
By Samuel Abasiekong-Abasiekong
The Nigerian Bar Association has changed the location of its 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC) earlier scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt and moved it to Enugu State citing the March 18, 2025 unconstitutional appointment of the a Sole Administrator by President Bola Hamed Tinubu to over see the Affairs of the “Garden City” State.
Holding this year AGC in Rivers State will amount to endorsing the unconditional appointment of Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator of the state which is alien to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as it’s widely condemned and rejected within and without by rational minds, the country Bar Association remarked
This decision is contained in a Press Statement signed by NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN; General Secretary Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara; and AGC Planning Committee Chair Emeka Obegolu, SAN
Citing Supreme Court precedents and the provisions of Sections 11, 188, and 305 of the 1999 Constitution, the NBA argued that the state of emergency and the suspension of elected officials lack any legal foundation. The association also described the National Assembly’s approval of the emergency via voice vote—rather than the constitutionally required two-thirds majority—as a “grave constitutional subversion”, the statement said in part.
Further more, the Statement said following widespread member concerns and emergency consultations including engagements with NBA branch chairmen in Rivers State and a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of March 27, 2025 the NBA resolved that holding the AGC in Rivers State would amount to tacit endorsement of unconstitutional governance.
“The NBA cannot, in good conscience, proceed with the AGC in a state governed unconstitutionally by a Sole Administrator,” the statement emphasized.
Enugu, popularly known as the “Coal City,” has now been selected as the new venue, with the NBA citing its strong infrastructure and capacity to host a world-class conference.
The leadership assured members that the change of location will not affect the quality and success of the AGC.
Thus the Association called on all members and stakeholders to lend their full support as we embark on this new path
