Rivers: Eight NBA Branches Defend Chairman Over Allegation Of Misconduct

By Ayodele Oni

Rivers State Government has accused the Chairman of the Port Harcourt branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of misconduct for being a signatory to a communiqué which criticised the State Government.

Already, the eight branches of the NBA in the  State have rejected a query issued to the Chairman, Cordelia Eke, by the Sole Administrator of the state through the Ministry of Justice.

The query, dated April 25 and signed by Ebiriemg Deresima, Director of Administration at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, accused Eke of “serious misconduct” for co-signing a communique that criticized the State Government.

The query also claimed that such actions violated Public Service Rules and were deemed inappropriate for a civil servant

The communiqué had described as “severe and brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity,” the alleged dismantling of democratic structures and suppression of peaceful protests.

In response, the chairmen of the Rivers NBA branches issued a joint press release on denouncing the query as an attempt to intimidate Eke and other legal professionals in the state.

The NBA leadership clarified that the communique in question was not issued by Eke in her capacity as a public servant, but rather as the elected Chairperson of the Port Harcourt Branch of the NBA, a position that allows her to express the collective views of the branch.

It further emphasized that the communique, dated April 9, was the result of formal NBA discussions and reflected the collective stance of all NBA branches in Rivers State.

The Chairmen noted that this position aligned with that of the NBA at the national level, as expressed by the Association’s President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN.

The Chairmen described the query as part of a broader effort by the Sole Administrator to silence dissenting voices and undermine democratic principles under the guise of promoting peace.

They viewed the query as an attempt to intimidate Eke into abandoning her role as Chairman of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch and to deter lawyers and the people of Rivers State from standing up against executive overreach and impunity.