The Rivers State Government has rejected the claim by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that the N300m given by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara was a ‘gift’.
The government in a statement on Tuesday said records showed that the money was given to the NBA to host the conference and Rivers.
While calling on the NBA to refund the money, the state government said the NBA has breached the trust it has wih the state government by relocating the conference to another state and it will use all available legal means to recover the money.
“The Rivers State Government has noted the statement by the NBA on the relocation the 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC) from Port Harcourt, Rivers State to Enugu State”.
“The Rivers State Government, however, outrightly rejects the NBA’s recent allegation that the ₦300 million payment made by the state was a “gift”, unrelated to hosting rights for the NBA AGC 2025. For clarity, the Rivers State Government’s records show that the payment of ₦300 million to the NBA was made with the mutual understanding that Rivers State would host the 2025 edition of the NBA AGC”.
“The Rivers State Government entered into this arrangement with the NBA in good faith, with the understanding that hosting the conference in the state would attract significant economic benefits to our state, positively and directly impact the businesses of our people”.
“The NBA’s unilateral decision to relocate the AGC 2025 against our mutual understanding and subsequent decision to withhold the ₦300 million paid for the purpose of hosting the NBA AGC 2025 in Rivers State is unethical and amounts to a breach of trust.
“Failure of the NBA to immediately refund the ₦300 million to the Rivers State Government, will compel the implementation of all legal means to recover the property of the good people of Rivers State”.
