NBA conference, Dino Melaye praises Gov Mbah's achievements

Former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye, has praised Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for the governor’s achievements within two years in office.

Mr Melaye spoke at the ongoing Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)’s Annual General Conference in Enugu, Enugu State.

The former senator contested the 2023 governorship election in Kogi State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Governor Ahmed Dodo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking in one of the sessions at the conference, Mr Melaye said that Mr Mbah’s performance outclassed that of his Kogi counterpart.

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“I wanted to start by saying that I am personally impressed with Governor Mbah. Because if all this is done in two years, we would have been very grateful in Kogi State if the boy’s quarter of this building was constructed in my state,” he said, pointing at a building outside the conference hall. “I would have appreciated my governor.

“With what we’ve seen, honestly speaking, I was in a place yesterday called the Cultural Centre, and I appreciated that because it’s thinking outside the box,” he said.

Mr Melaye, who also reacted to a presentation by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Enugu State, Kingsley Udeh, commended Mr Mbah’s recruitment process, saying it accounts for the governor’s achievements and the quality of the commissioner’s presentation.

He urged Mr Mbah to organise training for his colleagues in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on how to recruit the best hands to work with.

“What I am particularly impressed with this afternoon is Mr Mbah’s recruitment process in selecting political appointees. The intellectual display by your attorney general gives me hope that if other governors and even at the national level will work on the recruitment process, because I have interacted with attorney generals from some states.

“This means there is no nepotism, and maybe it is the reason behind the successes we are seeing,” he said.

Justice now ‘purchasable commodity’ in Nigeria – Sultan of Sokoto

The NBA earlier scheduled the conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but later moved it to Enugu in protest of President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.

Mr Tinubu had suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state legislature for six months, sparking a backlash from the NBA, which said the president lacks such power.

Speaking on Sunday as a guest speaker at the conference, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar, lamented that justice in Nigeria has become a “purchasable commodity,” adding that the poor are now victims, while the rich do not face prosecution.

Mr Abubakar regretted that the integrity of the judicial system was being undermined by corruption and inequality.

“Today, justice is increasingly becoming a purchasable commodity, and the poor are becoming victims of this kind of justice, while the rich commit all manner of crime and walk the streets scot-free,” he said.

He maintained that the legal profession must remain committed to upholding the rule of law to ensure fairness, accountability, and equality before the law, adding that such commitment can help solve Nigeria’s governance issues.

“You are resolving to uphold the highest principles of the rule of law to ensure that everyone, including those in power, is subject to and accountable under the law.

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“If we are able to do this, we would have addressed the core of the crisis of governance in this country,” he said.

Governor Mbah, in his opening remarks, told the lawyers that law is more than a profession, as it serves as the conscience of Nigeria.

“Let me say this: the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Stand Out, Stand Tall,’ is a timely reminder of the responsibility we bear as lawyers and leaders.

“The law is not just a profession – it is the conscience of the nation. We are not only courtroom advocates; we are also defenders of truth, architects of peace, and champions of equity,” Mr Mbah said.