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Between Rivers and NBA: Who keeps the N300m?

Published

1 week ago

Apr 15, 2025.

Rivers sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) and NBA President, Afam Osigwe

All hell broke loose on Monday between the Rivers State Government led by sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The conflict followed the NBA’s decision to relocate its Annual General Conference from Rivers to Enugu State, citing the apparent illegal suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers House of Assembly members as well as the appointment of a sole administrator for the state.

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In a statement, the top body for Nigerian legal practitioners said it decided to dump Rivers as a venue for its conference to avoid “a tacit endorsement” of the sole administrator rule in the state.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu, in March, declared an emergency rule in Rivers and suspended all elected state officials as a result of a running battle between the governor and lawmakers, saying the move was to forestall the breakdown of law and order.

However, many legal experts and civic organisations have faulted the move, saying Section 305 of the 1999 constitution, which the president relied on to declare an emergency rule and suspend state officials, does not give the president the power to suspend elected state officials or appoint a sole administrator.

Rivers sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.)

The NBA, which is one of the organisations critical of the development, has therefore taken a stand against Ibas, saying he’s running an illegal and unconstitutional government in Rivers.

The N300 million controversy

Before Fubara’s suspension, he had disbursed N300 million, which appears to come from the state coffers, to the NBA to support its upcoming conference in the state.

Following its decision to dump the state for Enugu, Ibas has called on the NBA to return the state’s N300 million disbursement to the association, but the group has rejected this request, saying it doesn’t owe an illegal government a refund.

“While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association—despite its ‘principled position’— didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference,” the sole administrator said in a statement.

“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”

Ibas makes a good point about standing on principle and Ridwan Oke, the Principal Partner at Iris Attorneys LP, a Lagos-based law firm, agrees. You cannot claim to take a principled stand on a constitutional issue and then turn around to keep a N300 million disbursement from an illegal appropriation.

“Let’s not even talk about the legal parlance for now, I think NBA is morally expected to refund. You can’t say you don’t want to associate with a State based on a principle and you are maintaining the benefit you derived from them especially when the purpose for collecting that money is still months away,” Oke wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Ridwan Oke, Principal Partner at Iris Attorneys LP

Remember, in February, when a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji upheld an appellate court order that voided and set aside the passage of the 2024 budget by four out of the 31 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the ground of illegality, the apex court basically declared all disbursements under the 2024 budget as illegal.

The disbursement of N300 million to the NBA appears to come from this illegal budget, thus making it an illegal payment by the suspended governor. If the NBA is truly taking a principled stand, it has the moral duty to refund what the Supreme Court has now declared an illegal payment.

However, this does not seem to be as simple as it sounds. The NBA may say that it is ready to return the funds, but to the democratically elected government of Rivers and that would be consistent with its stated principled stand.

However, the organisation has not committed to returning the N300 million disbursement to Rivers at the right time. Instead, it claims the fund was a gift and not a payment for hosting rights, currently making it clear that it has no plan to return the money.

Integrity at stake

The NBA must walk its talk if it is to maintain its integrity and truly take a principled stand. Whether a gift or not, the N300 million is for Rivers and if the organisation decides not to host its conference in the state—as is within its right—the state also has the moral right to request a refund and the law group has a moral responsibility to return the money to the state coffers.

As Oke noted, the NBA has more to lose in this conflict as the body claiming to take a principled stand.

“NBA should find a middle ground or refund that money. The organization has much more to lose than the current Rivers government. There’s an integrity issue at stake here and no matter how you look at it, it’s problematic,” the lawyer wrote on X.

NBA President, Afam Osigwe

The best way out of this quagmire for the NBA may be to commit to paying the N300 million to a democratically elected government of Rivers once it’s in place. At the moment, the body may be right to not recognise Vice Admiral Ibas (rtd.) as a lawful representative of Rivers. But the NBA must tread carefully, lest it be burnt.

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