The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Imo State, Hon. Paul Obinatu, has clarified that the funds released by the Imo State Government to the six branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in the state were not meant exclusively for sponsoring lawyers to the 2026 NBA Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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Obinatu, in a letter dated September 28, 2026, addressed to the Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri Branch, and titled “NBA Owerri Branch Stand Off: My Position!”, said his attention had been drawn to what he described as a misinterpretation of remarks he made at the Governor’s Dinner he hosted for Imo conferees during the annual conference.
He explained that the financial intervention approved and released by Governor Hope Uzodimma to the six NBA branches in Imo State was intended to support the branches generally and was not exclusively earmarked for conference sponsorship.
According to the Attorney-General, the Bar branches were also requested to purchase buses from the funds released to them, with the exception of NBA Owerri Branch, for which the Governor had separately approved a bus outside the allocation made to the Branch.
Obinatu said it was the responsibility of every branch executive, after proper consultation, to determine how the funds should be appropriated according to the branch’s priorities, including conference expenses and local projects.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is the obligation of every branch executive with proper consultations to determine, on a scale of preference, and aside the conference funding, the local projects of the Bar to which to appropriate funds,” he stated.
He maintained that spending the entire government intervention exclusively on conference participation would amount, in his view, to an economic waste.
“It would not be superfluous to hold the modest view that it would be considered a huge economic waste to expend the entire Government released fund EXCLUSIVELY for the annual general conference spree,” the Attorney-General said.
At the same time, Obinatu said it would equally be inconsiderate for any branch executive committee to expend the entire allocation on projects without making provision for members who attended the conference.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it would be inconsiderate for any Executive Committee of any Branch of the Bar to spend the entire fund on project without making appropriations of this fund to the Conferees within the membership of that Bar branch,” he stated.
Following his clarification, the Attorney-General set out four conclusions which he said should guide the resolution of the disagreement within NBA Owerri.
First, he directed the Branch Executive Committee to immediately implement the resolution of the General Meeting held on Saturday, September 26, 2026, by setting up a committee to investigate how part of the funds released to the Branch by the Imo State Government through his office was spent.
“The Executive members of the Owerri Bar should implement immediately the resolution of the general meeting held on Saturday the 26th September, 2026 to wit, set up a committee to investigate the expenditure of part of the fund released to them by the Imo State Government through my office,” he stated.
Secondly, Obinatu directed the Executive Committee to disburse the remaining balance of the fund to members who attended the conference.
“The Executive Committee of the Owerri Bar should forthwith and without any further delay disburse the balance of the fund to the Conferees,” he said.
The Attorney-General also cautioned members of the Branch against conduct capable of damaging the image of the legal profession before the public, stating that every member of the Bar owed a duty to protect the institution’s reputation.
He further said that the Executive Committee, having, in his words, been “pardoned” at the September 26 General Meeting for its mistakes, should regard the development as an opportunity to bring the internal dispute to an end.
“That the Executive Committee having been pardoned at the general meeting of 26th September for their mistakes, this should therefore bring an end to the stand-off in the Owerri Bar,” Obinatu stated.
TheNigeriaLawyer recalls that, following the General Meeting resolution and the Attorney-General’s September 28 communication, NBA Owerri Branch constituted a five-member investigative committee to examine the expenditure of part of the funds received from the Imo State Government.
According to a notice issued from the Publicity Desk of the Branch on September 28, the committee was approved by the Branch Executive Committee pursuant to the resolution reached at the September 26 General Meeting and following the directive contained in Obinatu’s communication.
The committee is chaired by Chief Soronnadi Njoku, SAN, with Okwara Adaugo as Secretary. Other members are Goodluck Nwelue, K. M. Onyeama and Onwukaike Paschal.
The committee was mandated to investigate the expenditure of part of the government funds which the Executive Committee applied to projects, obtain explanations and clarifications from persons involved or connected with the expenditure, and make findings for submission to the Branch for consideration and further necessary action.
The Branch said the committee was expected to conduct its assignment with fairness, diligence, transparency and fidelity to its mandate.
The development arose from the controversy surrounding the N100 million received by NBA Owerri Branch, which formed part of a reported N350 million financial intervention distributed among the six NBA branches in Imo State.
Under the reported distribution, NBA Owerri received N100 million, while each of the five other branches received N50 million. TheNigeriaLawyer had earlier reported the dispute over the purpose, approval and expenditure of the Owerri Branch’s allocation.
Information previously obtained by TheNigeriaLawyer indicated that part of the N100 million was used for improvements at the Owerri Bar Centre, including solar facilities, air-conditioning units and additional seats.
The controversy centred on whether the expenditure reflected the purpose for which members understood the funds had been released and whether the Bar Centre projects received the required approval of the Branch General Meeting.
Nothing presently available establishes that the money was diverted for the personal benefit of Branch Chairman Dr. Mazi Udegbulem or any other individual. The issues under consideration concern the application of the funds and the process through which the expenditure was authorised.
The committee’s constitution also came on the same day a formal motion seeking Udegbulem’s removal was submitted to the Branch Secretary on grounds of alleged financial misappropriation. The removal controversy itself had earlier raised questions over compliance with Article 13 of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law for Branches.
Obinatu’s latest clarification therefore establishes his stated position that the government intervention was neither meant exclusively for conference sponsorship nor intended to be wholly expended on branch projects without provision for conferees.
His directive called for investigation of the expenditure already made, immediate payment of the balance to conferees and an end to the stand-off within NBA Owerri.
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