NBA moves its annual conference from Rivers in protest against emergency rule

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has moved its 2025 Annual General Conference, earlier scheduled for Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Enugu in Enugu State, citing the emergency rule in the oil-rich state.

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President Bola Tinubu, on 18 March, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended all elected officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Mr Tinubu cited the attack on an oil pipeline and the protracted political crisis in the state caused by the feud between Governor Fubara and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, as the reason for the emergency rule. He appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice admiral of the Nigerian Navy, as the state’s sole administrator.

In a statement on Thursday signed by its President, Afam Osigwe, and the Secretary, Mobolaji Ojibara, the NBA said the announcement that Port Harcourt would host the conference was met with widespread enthusiasm, triggering soaring membership registration.

“However, the unfortunate turn of events in Rivers State has understandably stalled the momentum and affected the advanced preparations for the conference.

“We are pleased to announce that the 2025 Annual General Conference will now be held in the historic Coal City of Enugu,” the NBA said in a statement on Facebook.

Ibas flouts rule of law with impunity – NBA

The group reaffirmed that the appointment of a sole administrator and the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State violates Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, adding that the administrator governs as though the state is under military rule.

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The NBA further said the purported ratification of the emergency rule by the National Assembly through voice votes instead of the constitutionally required two-thirds majority amounts to a “grave constitutional subversion.”

“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 statement said.

The NBA said with the undemocratic developments, Port Harcourt could no longer be considered a justifiable venue for the association’s 2025 conference.

“To hold our flagship event in such a circumstance would amount to a tacit endorsement of constitutional violations and subversion of the rule of law,” the reason the group said compelled the relocation of the event to Enugu, where constitutional democracy remains.

Other Nigerians on Rivers emergency rule

Commenting on the development in a Facebook post, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, commended the NBA for the decision, which he said was taken to “strengthen the NBA’s condemnation and rejection of the aberration called a sole administrator.

“Let President Tinubu, Akpabio, Wike, and their impostor called Mr Ibas organise their conference in Rivers State and entertain themselves,” said Mr Effiong.

Besides NBA, other Nigerians, including a former governor of Rivers, Ada George, and the Founder of the Albinism Foundation, Jake Epelle, have condemned the emergency rule.

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For Mr Epelle, President Tinubu appears to have removed Mr Fubara from office under the pretext of suspension. He argued that Mr Ibas’s actions, including the appointment of sole administrators for local government councils in the state, justified his belief.

Mr Ibas was “sent to make regulations, not appointment,” Mr Epelle said, describing the emergency rule as unconstitutional.

Mr George, currently the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum chairperson, accused the FCT minister of masterminding the emergency rule because Governor Fubara refuses to do his bidding.

In his reaction, Mr Wike said Mr George was speaking like children and blamed the emergency rule on Governor Fubara’s “lawlessness.”

The minister faulted NBA’s position on the emergency rule last month, saying that the group discredited the president’s decision because Rivers’ government had promised to host their conference.