*Says He Told NBA President Badejo-Okusanya: “Those Who Are Backing You Are Traders, I Know What You Want”
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ELLAN.png")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has explained why he stayed away from the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held in Port Harcourt, his home state, saying he does not attend events he regards as a jamboree or events in which, in his words, traders are in charge.
Wike, a Life Bencher, spoke in a television interview in which he also criticised the outgoing NBA leadership over the organisation of the conference, disclosed what he told the incoming NBA President when she visited him, and objected to the presence on the NBA platform of a former governor of Rivers State whom he accused of shutting down the courts.
Pressed on why he did not appear at a conference holding in his home state, the minister said his absence was deliberate.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t pretend. I don’t attend something that is a jamboree,” he said. “I don’t attend something where traders are in charge.”
The interviewer put it to him that those were strong words and asked whether he was referring to what was described as the ₦300 million saga. Wike replied that the leadership of the last NBA administration showed that the conference was a tragedy.
Asked directly whether his objection was about the ₦300 million, he said it was not.
“It is not about that. You saw the outcry. NBA has never had that kind of conference since NBA started. It was a complete flop. Organisation was zero,” he said.
Wike said the conference lost sight of its purpose.
“Focus on the real thing the conference is supposed to do. You started playing politics. You started having it as a ground for opposition parties to sell themselves,” he said.
He added that a platform of that kind carries responsibility, remarking that he sometimes watches people speak politics on such platforms and observes the distance between what is said there and the reality of politics.
The minister said he had raised the question of legacy directly with the outgoing NBA President.
“I told the former NBA president, I said, look, what would you say will be your legacy as NBA president?” he said.
He drew the comparison with his own record in office. “Just like when I was Minister of the FCT, what legacy, what can I say I did. It is a very important thing,” he said.
He returned again to the reception the conference received. “If you watch the internet, if you read, the outcry of that conference, it had never happened. Organisation was so poor. And then look at the calibre of persons.”
Wike disclosed that the incoming NBA President visited him and asked why he had not supported her in the election.
“The president, she came to see me. She said, why are you not supporting me in the election? I told her why I was not going to support her,” he said. “Those who are backing you are traders. I know what you want.”
Asked to confirm that he was referring to the current NBA President, he answered: “Yes, she came to see me, yes.”
He said he told her the scale of the task ahead. “You have a lot of work to do. You have a lot of work to do,” he said, adding that her inaugural speech contained promises to that effect and that much work remained to be done.
The minister’s sharpest criticism concerned who was allowed to speak at the conference.
“Take for example, you are talking about rule of law. What do we thought? You can see a former president of another country say, look, in your country, how? We never heard of this or that. What happened? So we can learn from that,” he said. “You now went and brought people who never respected the rule of law.”
He referred to a former governor of Rivers State. “The former governor of the state, not that the court was on strike, locked up the court, changed it, changed it, for almost two years.”
The interviewer asked whether he was referring to Rotimi Amaechi. Wike answered: “You know it.”
He rejected any suggestion that the matter should be softened because the individual is from his state. “Sometimes, you know, that is not the sentiment that you say, oh, because it is not easy. It is not the issue.”
“NBA will go and bring somebody who locked up the courts for almost two years to be on the platform of NBA. For Christ’s sake. For Christ’s sake,” he said.
When it was pointed out that it was the party, and not the individual, that had been invited, and that he appeared to represent the presidential candidate, Wike dismissed the distinction.
“No, no, that is not correct. Why not wait? Whether he came to represent the presidential candidate, the mere fact that you were the one that changed the court not to function, there is no way, whoever you are representing, you can still be on the platform of the NBA. No way,” he said.
He added: “You also know what happened with this person as regards the Supreme Court. You know what happened in this country. So when you see such things, you begin to wonder what kind of NBA is this.”
Wike linked the appearance to the 2027 succession question.
“Take for example, who you want to run for vice president. Can you imagine such a person becoming the vice president of the country? What will happen?” he asked.
He put the point in the form of a hypothetical against himself. “As I sit here today, I go and lock up all the courts in Abuja for whatever reason, it doesn’t matter, not that the court was on strike. You go and change the courts. Tomorrow I invite somebody, will you represent me?”
Told that the person concerned had repented, the minister responded: “Repented? Listen, I repented, how? Repent, look.”
He said the matter went beyond domestic argument. “The world is listening to us. Whatever we do, people are watching,” he said, arguing that a country serious about the rule of law could not overlook such a record when considering a person for the second-highest office.
He recalled a consequence he attributed to the court closure. “I remember that time, a woman was pregnant. The court was locked up. The woman gave birth in prison because the court was locked up.”
“Can such a person say I am going to stand for election to be vice president of Nigeria, and you want rule of law to be upheld in this country, and such a man was the one who shut down the court?” he asked.
Asked to allow a response, Wike insisted on completing the point.
“Let me tell you why NBA was wrong,” he said. “It is not for you to bring opposition parties to come and say what they are going to do for the country. But assuming so, even the opposition party is to come and present a particular person, knowing what you stand for or what you stood for, cannot, no matter how you look at it.”
Put to him that the ruling party and others may have missed an opportunity by not using the platform to tell Nigerians what they had in store, rather than walking away from it, he returned to his central complaint. “What does the NBA stand for? What does the NBA stand for? I mean, take it whether you like it.”
The minister broadened the argument into what he described as double standards in public life, without naming the individuals concerned.
He said he had watched a media discussion questioning the justification for placing a person facing an EFCC case on a campaign council.
“Somebody cannot be a member of a campaign council because EFCC is investigating the person,” he said, contrasting that with a person who had been charged to court alongside his son, contested an election and was voted into office. “That is not an offence, but somebody that EFCC is investigating cannot canvass for votes. You see how this country is.”
He extended the illustration further, referring to a person alleged to have been involved in a coup plot who, he said, was canvassing for votes without objection. “Nobody sees anything wrong. Nobody sees anything wrong.”
Asked whether he was accusing Nigerians of double standards, he turned the question back on the interviewer. “I am bringing it back to you. What is the moral obligation of somebody that EFCC is investigating? Why should the person be on the campaign council to canvass for votes for somebody? And I said, look, have you asked yourself too?”
The book also examines Nigeria's legal ecosystem, focusing on the LPELR and NBA AI Guidelines. As a bonus, every purchase comes with a FREE eBook titled: How to Use the AI Features in LegalPedia and LawPavilion.
Ohio Books Ltd praises the publication, stating:
"....this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic."
How to Order:
📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878
📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com
🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
_______________________________________________________________________
“Order Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s Electronic Evidence Books Now” — Essential Guides On Evidence Act, Case Law And Digital Proof
Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via:
0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888
Website: www.alexandernigeria.com
