'WHY NBA PH CARETAKER CHAIR MUST RESIGN FOR BIAS' - EX EBF GOV

BY SOSEIPIRIYE LONG WILLIAMS

Following the inability of the NBA PH Branch Electoral Committee to conduct elections to fill in the offices of the Branch executives on 26th June, 2026 by virtue of the order of Hon. Justice Sika Henry Aprioku sitting in Port Harcourt, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN by the powers vested on him by the NBA Constitution 2025 as amended constituted a Caretaker Committee for the branch with the following members;

Idris Abayomi Shehu-Chairman
Dr. Hilda Desmond-Ihekaire
Friday Azubuike – Secretary.
The committee was saddled with the following mandate;
To administer and manage the affairs of the branch pending the conduct of elections.
To act as the Electoral Committee of the branch
To take all necessary steps to organise and conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible elections in accordance with the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association and the NBA Uniform Bye-laws for the Branches.

The Caretaker Committee immediately swung into action but on the wrong footing.
Since it’s assumption of office, the Committee has not deemed it wise to call a meeting of the elders and major stakeholders in the branch for any meaningful dialogue towards settling the differences that led to it’s setting up and also to assuage the feelings of some members of the branch who may have been hurt by the events leading up to 26th June, 2026. The Committee is busy attending one function or the other, making derogatory statements and casting aspersions against the generality of branch members at these events. No fence mending has been done by the Committee, instead the Committee is busy stoking the fire.

Besides the above, there are serious allegations against the Chairman of the Committee on the grounds of likelihood of bias against some of the candidates. This is a Chairman of a Caretaker Committee who has been campaigning for one of the candidates in the election. This is direct evidence because I personally saw his post for a particular candidate posted on several platforms for the same elections he is about to chair as the Electoral Committee Chairman and as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee. He has been informed on several occasions to respectfully step aside and that he should not have accepted the appointment considering his position in the elections before his appointment. But these wise counsel of Ahitophel have fallen on deaf ears. He is bent on conducting and overseeing an election for which he was a major campaigner for one of the candidates. Is this not a recipe for disaster, does this not run against one of the core mandates of the Caretaker Committee to organise and conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible elections in the branch? Tony Accardo once said that “a fish with it’s mouth closed never gets caught. Idris Abayomi Shehu was caught pants down. He cannot partake as an umpire in the NBA PH Branch actions.

Also, there is an order issued by the Nchia High Court in Rivers State restraining the Caretaker Committee headed by Mr. Idris Abayomi Shehu from conducting any elections in NBA PH Branch until the determination of the motion on notice filed in the suit, Idris Abayomi Shehu and members of his Committee are hell-bent on flouting the orders of court. Their argument that the court has no jurisdiction or that there is a similar suit pending before the High Court, Port Harcourt Division holds no water. The Caretaker Committee are not parties to the suit in the High Court, Port Harcourt so cannot use that as a basis to go ahead with an election for which he is patently and toxically biased.

Idris Abayomi Shehu has an antecedent of causing schism and “putting fire” in branches. He contested for the Chairmanship of NBA Bori Branch and issues arose out of the elections. He succeeded in “putting fire” in the branch for almost one year before the fire was doused by 31st President of the NBA, His Excellency Olumide Akpata. That was how peace returned to Bori Branch. If not for the 31st President, NBA Bori Branch would have been burnt to the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, the same man has imported his antecedents to the NBA PH Branch.

It is also more increasingly curious that some who wrote petitions to the whole world and even to the United Nations against the NBA Port Harcourt Electoral Committee on grounds of bias and unfairness have all suddenly gone blind and are playing deaf and dumb because the composition of the Caretaker Committee suits them with Idris Abayomi Shehu as their Man Friday. Shame to all of you. I now know that most of us in the NBA who call ourselves men and women of the most noble profession with high since of integrity are all charlatans. We are not different from the ordinary Nigerian politicians in the streets. IN FACT we are worst in integrity and conduct. We have nothing to hold dear save for self interest and dishonour.

I hereby advise and admonish Idris Abayomi Shehu to toe the path of dignity and honour as a noble in the legal profession and for everything he holds dear and resign his membership and Chairmanship of the Caretaker Committee of NBA PH Branch. Idris Abayomi Shehu should know as stated by Niccolo Machiavelli that ” It is not title that honours men but men that honours title”

S. LONG WILLIAMS is one of the leading lights of NBA Port Harcourt Branch

‘WHY NBA PH CARETAKER CHAIR MUST RESIGN FOR BIAS’ – EX EBF GOV

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