A member of the House of Representatives, Solomon Bob, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over its claim that the N300m reportedly paid to it by the Rivers State Government was a “gift.”
Bob, who represents Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency, described the NBA’s position as “unreasonable and unbecoming” of a self-styled ombudsman, accusing the association of compromising its integrity through a questionable relationship with suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The NBA has been at the centre of controversy since opposing the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025.
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It also relocated its annual conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu in protest.
In response, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), asked the NBA to refund the N300m, saying the funds were allocated to support the state’s hosting of the now-relocated conference.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Bob accused the NBA of “insincerity, hypocrisy and misguided praetorian pretensions.”
“The money must be returned to the coffers of the Rivers State Government,” Bob insisted. “Failing that, the authorities should take all necessary steps to recover it.”
He described the NBA’s statement on the Rivers crisis as a distraction, asserting that the association had kept silent during Governor Fubara’s tenure despite “crass lawlessness and wanton irresponsibility never before seen in any state.”
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
