NBA gives detailed reasons for withdrawing conference invitation to Gov El-Rufai

DAILY POST had reported that the Association had withdrawn its invitation to the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, following protests from some lawyers.

Following the development, the President of the Association, Paul Usoro in a statement released on Friday said of the three people who supported the motion two were Southerners and the other was a Christian cleric.

He also said that the NBA will remain an association with no religious or ethnic bias.

According to him, he was among the minority which spoke against the withdrawal adding that the decision of the National Executive Council of the association cannot be overruled.

“I have received several messages from our members that have attributed ethnic and religious considerations to the decision.

“That is not correct and is very far from the truth.

“I would like to state that neither the NBA nor NEC belong to any religious or ethnic group.

“We are lawyers and professionals dedicated to the ideals, promotion and preservation of the Rule of Law and we belong to one indivisible family of the NBA.

“As I point out in my letter, neither the NBA nor NEC set out to sit in judgment against Mallam el-Rufai and even from that point, the principle of fair hearing does not apply.

“We are one united Nigerian Bar Association with no religious, ethnic bias or predisposition and we will forever remain so,” he said.