PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – The Rivers State government, led by Sole Administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas, has rejected the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) characterization of the N300 million paid for hosting rights of the 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC) as a “gift.”
The state government has demanded that the NBA refund the full amount, warning that legal action will be taken if the funds are not returned.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, by Hector Igbikiowubo, the senior special assistant on media to the Rivers sole administrator, the government expressed its disappointment with the NBA’s decision to move the 2025 conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
The NBA’s decision made on Friday, April 11, 2025, was attributed to what it described as “constitutional violations” following the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers.
The state of emergency, declared on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, was in response to a prolonged political crisis in the state.
It led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the entire Rivers House of Assembly, with Ibok-Ete Ibas appointed as the sole administrator.
The NBA’s relocation of the conference was seen as a direct consequence of this development.
The Rivers government, however, stated that it had entered into an agreement with the NBA, under which the state would host the AGC to attract significant economic benefits.
The government described the NBA’s decision to relocate the conference and its refusal to acknowledge the N300 million as payment for hosting rights as unethical and a breach of trust.
“The Rivers State Government entered into this arrangement with the NBA in good faith, with the understanding that hosting the conference in the state would attract significant economic benefits to our state, positively and directly impact the businesses of our people,” the statement said.
“The NBA’s unilateral decision to relocate the AGC 2025 against our mutual understanding and subsequent decision to withhold the N300 million paid for the purpose of hosting the NBA AGC 2025 in Rivers State is unethical and amounts to a breach of trust.”
The state government further warned that failure to refund the money would compel it to pursue legal measures to recover the funds, which it insists belong to the people of Rivers State.
The NBA, for its part, has maintained that the N300 million was a “gift” and not a payment for the hosting rights of the AGC, denying that it had sold the rights to the event.
In response, the Rivers government has reiterated its stance, asserting that the agreement with the NBA was made in good faith and was intended to benefit the state economically.
