The Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) has called on its members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to show solidarity with Cordelia U. Eke, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Port Harcourt Branch, by displaying banners during Workers’ Day celebrations nationwide.
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The directive, issued by LOAN’s National Public Relations Officer, Anthony Omah Wamah, Esq., on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC), urges the Rivers State Government to withdraw the disciplinary query issued against Eke. The association maintains that Eke was merely carrying out a collective resolution of the NBA National and its eight branches in Rivers State.
In a Workers’ Day message dated May 1, 2025, Wamah stated that LOAN’s Annual General Meeting and NEC resolved to mobilize state branches to produce and showcase banners in public support of Eke. These banners, he noted, should be prominently displayed at Workers’ Day venues across the country.
“As agreed in our AGM/NEC, all state branches of LOAN in Nigeria are to go to the printer and produce banners supporting Cordelia U. Eke, Director in the Rivers State Ministry of Justice and Chairman, NBA Port Harcourt,” the statement read. “We urge the Rivers State Administrator to drop the query issued to her for implementing the collective decision of the NBA National and its eight branches in Rivers State.”
Wamah concluded with a message of unity and goodwill: “Happy Workers’ Day Celebration. God bless you and your family. Cheers.”
The query against Eke stems from a communique jointly signed by all eight NBA Branch Chairmen in Rivers State, which sharply criticized the Sole Administrator of the state for what they described as “brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity” and an “unconstitutional dismantling of democratic institutions.” The NBA leaders called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to intervene in the political crisis engulfing the state.
Eke, a respected legal scholar and Director in the Ministry of Justice, is reportedly the only civil servant among the signatories—making her a likely target for retaliation.
The query, dated April 25, 2025, and signed by Director of Administration Ebiriemg Deresima on behalf of the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, accused Eke of breaching civil service rules by contributing to a communique without official clearance. The letter cited Rule No. 100421 (b), (c), and (d) of the Public Service Rules, which prohibits public servants from expressing opinions on political or administrative issues.
Labeling her actions “unbecoming of a civil servant” and a “flagrant disregard” for the rules, the government threatened disciplinary action, including possible dismissal, unless Eke responded satisfactorily within 48 hours.
Legal professionals and civil society actors have condemned the query as a political witch-hunt, pointing out that Eke was acting in her capacity as NBA Branch Chairman—a role that requires independence and advocacy on legal matters affecting the public.
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