NBA President speaks on El-Rufai’s withdrawal from the conference
In the midst of the ongoing controversy about NBA leadership actions, Mr. Usoro defended his decision concerning El-Rufai on Friday.
“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. Neither the NBA nor NEC belong to any religious or ethnic group. We are lawyers and professionals dedicated to the ideals and the promotion and preservation of the Rule of Law and we belong to one indivisible family of the NBA,” the senior lawyer said in a press release on Friday.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: NBA revokes El-Rufai’s invitation
He said the NEC did not infringe on the rule of law by dis-inviting the governor.
“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 prism, the principle of fair hearing does not apply.”
Mr Usoro added that none of the persons or parties who are opposed to the invitation of Mr El-Rufai to the conference has been offered the platform to advocate or propagate their viewpoints and positions and so the principle of not hearing the other side does not arise.
“We are one united Nigerian Bar Association with no religious or ethnic bias or predisposition and shall ever so remain,” he said.
Daily Times reported how Mr El-Rufai’s inclusion sparked protests among several lawyers, with some of them threatening to withdraw their participation. A group of lawyers, the Open Bar Initiative, petitioned the NBA, accusing the governor of human
rights violations, allegations the governor denied.
Many lawyers also accused Mr El-Rufai of not doing enough to end the killings in the southern part of Kaduna State.
It was based on the complaints that the NBA leadership withdrew Mr El-Rufai’s participation.
