The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for inviting former Rivers State Governor and ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, to its 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
Wike, who spoke during a media chat on Wednesday, questioned the decision to give Amaechi a platform at the conference.
He particularly accused the former governor of undermining the judiciary during his tenure in Rivers State.
The FCT minister recalled the prolonged closure of court premises in Rivers State under Amaechi, arguing that such a record was inconsistent with the principles the NBA ought to uphold.
“You now went and brought people who never respected that thing, the rule of law. The former governor of this state, not that the court was on strike, locked up the court, chained it for almost two years,” Wike said.
When asked if he was referring to Amaechi, Wike responded: “You know it. NBA will go and bring somebody who locked up the court for almost two years to be on the platform of NBA, for Christ’s sake.”
Amaechi, who served as Rivers State governor from 2007 to 2015, was reportedly invited to the conference as a representative of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar.
Wike, however, rejected the explanation, insisting that Amaechi’s participation should not have been permitted given his alleged past actions against the judiciary.
“The mere fact that you were the one that chained the court not to function, there’s no way, whoever you are representing, you can still run on the platform where NBA—no way,” he said.
He further questioned the implication of Amaechi occupying the office of Vice President, given his criticism of the former governor’s handling of the judiciary.
“Take for example, you want to run for vice president. Can you imagine such a person becoming the vice president of the country? What will happen? What does NBA stand for?”
The minister also explained his decision to stay away from the 66th NBA Annual General Conference, which was held in Port Harcourt from August 21 to 28, 2026.
Wike described the conference as a “complete flop”, alleging that its organisation was poor and that the event was turned into a platform for opposition political parties to campaign.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t attend something that’s a jamboree. I will not attend something that traders are in charge,” he said.
“The last leadership of the NBA shows that there was a trading. You saw the outcry; the NBA has never had that kind of conference since the NBA started. It was a complete flop.”
He further accused the organisers of abandoning the core objectives of the professional gathering in favour of partisan politics.
“Organisation was zero. Why? Instead of you to focus on the real thing the NBA conference was supposed to be, they started playing politics,” Wike said.
“They started having it as a ground for opposition parties to sell themselves.”
Wike’s criticism comes amid concerns over the NBA’s choice of speakers and panelists at the conference.
Renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) had earlier faulted the association for inviting social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to participate in a panel discussion on national security.
VDM featured in a session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen”, where he spoke about his experiences covering insecurity and visiting communities affected by attacks and killings.
Falana argued that discussions on national security at a professional legal conference should feature individuals with established expertise and contributions to Nigeria’s security architecture.
He said the NBA had traditionally invited people who had “paid their dues” and could engage lawyers intellectually, warning against turning its conferences into what he described as a “circus show.”