By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has attributed the Nigerian Bar Association’s condemnation of the Rivers emergency rule under the watch of Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, to the N300million donation the association received from the government of Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor of the state.
The minister disclosed this in his media chat on Friday in Abuja.
Reacting, Wike said the N300 million donation, which he prefer to address as a ‘gift,’ was not appropriated, describing it as illegal.
“On the NBA matter, it is unfortunate. How will the NBA back Rivers emergency rule when they collected gifts? When the Body of Benchers came to see me, I told them. When the Justice gave judgement about local government, the NBA came out and condemned it without reading the judgement. The president declared a state of emergency in Rivers State. They say he is not correct until everybody now knows why they took that stance because the state gifted them a gift that was not appropriate.
“NBA took N300 million and said it was a gift.
”In my budget I put it as a grant. I am allowed by law because it is appropriated. In this case the gift was not appropriated. NBA took an illegal gift,” he maintainted.
Wike’s comments is in the wake of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, emergency rule declaration in Rivers State and the suspension of Fubara and others for six months.
Recall that following Fubara’s suspension, the NBA shifted its Annual General Conference 2025, earlier billed for Port Harcourt to Enugu State, citing the emergency rule as the reason.
The NBA had repeatedly maintained its stance against the emergency, describing it as unconstitutional.
However, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, recently asked the NBA to return the N300 million donation given to it by the government to host the conference.
Meanwhile, in response, the NBA described the N300 million fund from Rivers State as a donation.
However, not satisfied with the NBA’s claim, the Rivers State government has vowed to institute a legal action against the legal body.
