The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN has stated that the fate of Port Harcourt as the host of this year’s Annual General Conference (AGC) will be decided on Thursday.

Osigwe told CITY LAWYER that an Emergency NBA National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting has been scheduled to hold that day to take a decision on the matter.

Asked whether the lawyers’ association will forge ahead with holding the annual fiesta in Port Harcourt given NBA’s strong stance against the State of Emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, Osigwe stated that “the essence of the Emergency NEC meeting is to review the situation and take a decision.”

CITY LAWYER observes that many lawyers have been anxious to know whether the AGC will still hold in the ‘Garden City’ in view of the political imbroglio that climaxed with the declaration of the State of Emergency.

The NBA President however noted that “There is also the argument that despite NBA denouncing the military in the past, it still held its AGC in states governed by the military.”

When CITY LAWYER reminded the NBA President that the AGC has traditionally enjoyed huge patronage from the host state to ensure its success, Osigwe disagreed, saying that the annual conference could be held in any city without such support.

His words: “NBA held its 2023 AGC in Abuja without receiving a single dime from the FCT administration. Nothing says NBA must receive strong ‘financial and logistical support’ from a city to hold a conference.”

He however quickly added that NBA’s position that the State of Emergency is unconstitutional remains unchanged, saying: “Our position hasn’t changed and we do not recognize the Administrator as a legitimate government in Rivers State.”

A Bar Leader who spoke to CITY LAWYER on the issue stated that “it will present all manner of challenges to hold the annual conference in a state where there is a seeming hostile posture between the NBA and the state chief executive. It is a tough call.”

The situation may also have thrown the NBA into a quandary, as there are not too many options to choose from given the huge infrastructure required to host at least 12,000 lawyers during the AGC.

While Abuja, Lagos and Owerri may be considered, each city throws up its own challenges, not least because they share the same ‘political affinity’ with the Sole Administrator and may not welcome NBA with open arms.

This is aside from the fact that Lagos hosted last year’s annual conference while Owerri has pockets of hostility. On the other hand, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, being a key gladiator in the Rivers State debacle, may not also be enthusiastic to play host due to NBA’s strong position against declaration of the State of Emergency.

Osigwe’s job rating among Nigerian lawyers and other stakeholders soared over the past few days as he made media rounds lampooning the Tinubu Administration in fiery interviews over the declaration.

A notice of emergency meeting obtained by CITY LAWYER reads: “Please be informed that there will be an Emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NBA on the date, time and venue specified hereunder:

DATE: Thursday, 27th March, 2025
TIME: 1:00 pm prompt
Venue Virtual

The meeting seeks to discuss the impact of the declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State viz-a-viz its impact on the coming Annual General Conference of the NBA slated to hold in Port Harcourt in August 2025

Please note that the NEC meeting is strictly for NEC members only.

Please Note that the meeting shall be Virtual and the link for the meeting shall be sent to NEC members in due course.