The troubled Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Port Harcourt Branch Election has been engulfed in another controversy over a list of ‘preferred candidates’ allegedly endorsed by the branch leadership.

CITY LAWYER recalls that NBA President, Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN recently waded into the controversies surrounding the election, leading to the appointment of an Electoral Committee to supervise the election now scheduled for August 5, 2026. The committee is led by NBA First Vice President, Mr. Sabastine Anyia.

A list has now emerged purporting to have the blessing of the branch leadership, leading the Caretaker Committee to disown the list.

In a public notice made available to CITY LAWYER by the committee and signed by its chairman, Mr. Idris Abayomi Shehu, the committee stated that “The attention of the Caretaker Committee, NBA Port Harcourt Branch, has been drawn to a text message circulating under the sender ID “NBAPHBRANCH,” endorsing a named list of aspirants for the forthcoming Branch election.”

It stated that “This message did NOT emanate from the Caretaker Committee, the Chairman, or any authorised officer of the Branch. The Committee has not endorsed any aspirant and remains strictly neutral.”

Continuing, the three-member committee stated that “Members of the branch have the right to choose who to vote for and the Branch will never foist any candidate or group of candidates on its members,” even as the committee warned members to “desist forthwith from circulating this or any similar unauthorised message.”

When contacted on the list which bore his name as the ‘endorsed’ chairmanship candidate, Mr. John Owubokiri stated that he is not aware of the list, adding that “I have no hand in it whatsoever.”

He stated that Mr. Franklin Peterside, who allegedly signed the ‘endorsement list’ is “an elder I respect a lot. I have not spoken with him on the matter. But I know he is not an official of the branch. I am surprised that such a list has his imprimatur.

“I am running for the office of chairman. I don’t know anything about the list. It is improper for me to comment on it. I guess the purported author will be in a better position to comment on the matter.”

Mr. Jonas Iniayemana, another chairmanship candidate, described the emergence of the list as “desperation.”

According to him, “It is unfortunate, mischievous and smacks of desperation but most importantly, it doesn’t represent the views of the vast majority of members of our Branch who are going to exercise their democratic will on Wednesday, 5th day of August, 2026.”

On his part, another chairmanship candidate, Mr. Anthony Ezenwoko, observed that a member of the branch signed off on the list, saying: “Somebody’s name is written there. So I cannot in good conscience attribute it to the Caretaker Committee.”

Continuing, he said: “Franklin Peterside is a very senior lawyer. He belongs to the Integrity Group. Every name there is of the Integrity Group. It is just somebody campaigning for his candidates and people distorting it.”

He however frowned at the use of “NBAPHBRANCH” as the sender ID, saying: “I do agree that it is not proper to use the branch ID to publish the information. While I am not holding brief for Mr. Peterside, I note that there is a lot of mischief going on. But he needs to come out and own it or disclaim it.”

When the attention of Mr. Samuel Maduba, another chairmanship candidate, was called to the list, he sent the Caretaker Committee’s disclaimer to CITY LAWYER. He has not responded to a request for comments at the time of filing this report.

When contacted, and having introduced CITY LAWYER and the subject, the interview with Peterside was aborted as the telephone line suddenly cut off. When CITY LAWYER repeated the call immediately, the senior lawyer was heard saying: “Hello. Who is this? Hello. Hello,” before the telephone line was again aborted.

As one of the most influential NBA branches, the NBA Port Harcourt election is being keenly watched by many stakeholders.

PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

The attention of the Caretaker Committee, NBA Port Harcourt Branch, has been drawn to a text message circulating under the sender ID “NBAPHBRANCH,” endorsing a named list of aspirants for the forthcoming Branch election.

This message did NOT emanate from the Caretaker Committee, the Chairman, or any authorised officer of the Branch. The Committee has not endorsed any aspirant and remains strictly neutral.

Members of the branch have the right to choose who to vote for and the Branch will never foist any candidate or group of candidates on its members.

All members and aspirants are warned to desist forthwith from circulating this or any similar unauthorised message.

This committee will not hesitate to refer anyone found responsible for appropriate disciplinary actions.

Please disregard the said message entirely.

Idris Abayomi Shehu
Chairman, Caretaker Committee
NBA Port Harcourt Branch

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