Return N300 million given to your association to host conference, Rivers state administrator tells lawyers

The Rivers State Administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas has asked the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to refund the N300 million paid to the association for hosting the body Annual General Conference.

Penpushing reports that Ibas asked for this in a statement by his spokesperson, Hector Igbikiowubo accusing the lawyers of not standing on principles, stressing that if they, they should refund the funds and stop discrediting the state they benefited from

“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits’, the statement reads

“While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association despite its ‘principled position didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference’.

Penpushing further reports that the administrator said the state was passing through a challenging phase in its democratic journey and appealed to the association to engage constructively, offering solutions instead of amplifying divisive narratives.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had berated President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspending all elected officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Penpushing also reports that the body declared that the President violates Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, arguing that he lacks the power to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the association subsequently moved its 2025 conference, earlier scheduled for Port Harcourt, to Enugu in Enugu State in protest against the emergency rule.

The legal practitioners stated that hosting the conference in Port Harcourt would amount to endorsing illegality, adding that the sole administrator is operating within a command-style approach that disregards constitutional provisions, court decisions, and pending litigations.

“Currently, Rivers State is being governed by a retired military officer, appointed as a sole administrator, who operates within a command-style approach that disregards constitutional provisions, court decisions, and pending litigations.

“His actions have undermined democratic institutions and processes, flouting the rule of law with impunity. Though clad in civilian attire, he governs as though the state is under military rule’, the association added

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