The Nigerian Bar Association has withdrawn its invitation to Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai as a speaker at its ongoing 2020 Annual General Conference Planning committee.
The decision followed protests from some lawyers through a petition to stop the governor from attending the Annual General Conference which was started by a lawyer, Usani Odum, had garnered over 3,150 signatures on Change.Org as of 4 pm on Thursday.
Announcing El-Rufai invitation withdrawal, the NBA in a tweet on Thursday via its Twitter handle @NigBarAssoc, said “The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association at its ongoing meeting resolves that the invitation to the Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Nasir El-Rufai, by the 2020 Annual General Conference Planning committee be withdrawn and decision communicated to the Governor.”
In a separate letter titled, ‘Request to Withdraw the Offer of Platform at the 2020 Annual General Conference of the NBA to Mallam Nasir el-Rufai,’ addressed to the Chairman, Technical Committee on Conference Planning, NBA, Prof. Koyinsola Ajayi, some lawyers said the governor must not be allowed to speak at the conference.
The letter, which was signed by Silas Onu and Auta Nyada, listed 10 allegations against el-Rufai and his son, Bello, who is a Special Adviser to Kaduna Central lawmaker, Senator Uba Sani.
They faulted the NBA for inviting el-Rufai, citing his alleged poor human rights record and his inability to stop the killings, particularly in southern Kaduna.
The ongoing virtual NEC meeting of the NBA is the customary Pre-AGC NEC meeting and it will be the last of the Paul Usoro, SAN led NBA administration. With participants from all of our 125 branches, the NEC is the highest decision making organ of the NBA after the AGM.