A pro-Tinubu group, Renewed Hope Global, has called on Afam Josiah Osigwe, president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to take immediate corrective action over what they described as the “shameful spectacle” at the association’s recent annual general conference in Enugu.
The group expressed dismay over what they termed “stage-managed antics” involving Seun Okinbaloye, a journalist, as well as “a parade of shoddy characters” who, according to them, “desecrated the platform with crass and unbecoming behaviour”.
Okinbaloye had asked the participants if their lives have improved under the Tinubu-led administration, to which majority of them responded with a resounding “No.”
The pro-Tinubu group said the conduct brought the NBA, Nigeria’s oldest professional membership organisation, into public ridicule.
The group said: “This descent into partisan theatrics and cheap sensationalism is unacceptable.
“Under your watch, the NBA must not be allowed to drift into the murky waters of partisanship or down the path of ignominy.”
The group demanded a public apology from the NBA to its members and the Nigerian public, a review of conference protocols to prevent a repeat, and disciplinary action against those who “brought the association into disrepute”.
They warned that failure to act would be taken as tacit approval of the events and could “irreparably damage the credibility” of Osigwe’s administration.
The group stressed that the NBA, with over 140,000 lawyers in 129 active branches across the country, is Africa’s most influential legal network and must safeguard its legacy.