Obasanjo snubs NBA Conference

 

In the wake of the controversy that trailed his inclusion as one of the speakers at the 60th Virtual Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the week, boycotted the conference with the theme, ‘Step Forward’.

The just-concluded NBA conference generated heated controversy when thousands of lawyers signed a petition for the NBA to remove Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, from the list of speakers due to his government’s failure to stop the killings in Southern Kaduna, and his alleged human rights record.

El-Rufai’s eventual disinvitation sparked outrage with the Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria asking the NBA to remove Obasanjo and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, from the list of speakers at the conference.

In an interview with The Punch MULAN President, Ibrahim Abikan, said: “I can confirm to you that former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not speak at the conference while Governor Nyesom Wike sent his SSG to represent him.”

This was confirmed by Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was obviously not at the conference but I don’t know why he did not attend the event,” Akinyemi said.