Solomon Bob, a member of the House of Representatives, has urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to refund the N300 million it received from the Rivers State Government as hosting fees for the association’s 2025 Annual General Conference.
Bob, who represents the Abua/Odual and Ahoada East federal constituency in Rivers State and is part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made this statement in Abuja on Thursday.
He expressed his discontent with the NBA’s decision to retain the funds after relocating the conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu. Bob called on Rivers State Administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas to pursue all legal avenues to retrieve the money from the NBA.
The N300 million was reportedly sanctioned by the suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminilayi Fubara, just before the federal government declared a state of emergency in the state following a prolonged political crisis between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who now serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
In March, President Bola Tinubu suspended Fubara and the State House of Assembly, appointing Ibas, a retired naval chief, as the state’s administrator for an initial six-month term, which was later confirmed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The NBA has condemned the state of emergency and Ibas’s appointment, claiming that such actions were unconstitutional and asserting that President Tinubu lacked the power to remove an elected governor. They threatened to move their conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu State.
Ibas stated that if the NBA insists on the relocation, the funds used for hosting rights should be refunded. The NBA, however, maintained it would go ahead with the move and would not return the N300 million, describing it as a “gift” from the prior administration.
Bob, a former special adviser to Wike, accused the NBA of misusing public funds that should be reclaimed. He called the refusal to refund the money “unreasonable” and indicative of a compromised relationship with Fubara. He criticized the NBA’s past silence on Fubara’s alleged incompetence and lawlessness.
Bob defended the state of emergency, arguing that the NBA does not have the authority to challenge presidential powers outlined in Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution. He stated that the NBA cannot redefine the President’s clear discretionary powers, nor does it have the ethical standing to act as a measure of democracy or constitutionalism.
