Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, has expressed disappointment over the organisation and quality of proceedings at the ongoing 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, describing the gathering, so far, as lacklustre and uninspiring.

In an interim assessment of the conference, Ubani said unless there was a dramatic improvement in the remaining days, the 2026 conference could rank among the least memorable NBA Annual General Conferences in recent years.

Ubani contrasted the Port Harcourt conference with last year’s gathering in Enugu, which he said was widely praised for its organisation, traffic management, ease of movement, environmental friendliness and hospitality.

According to him, the positive reviews that followed the Enugu conference may have contributed to the large turnout at this year’s event, particularly among younger lawyers eager to experience the NBA’s premier annual gathering.

However, he said his experience in Port Harcourt had fallen short of expectations.

One of his major concerns was the quality of conference materials, particularly the conference bag, which he said did not reflect the dignity and intellectual character expected of the largest gathering of lawyers in Africa.

Ubani also questioned the suitability of some personalities invited to participate in the conference, arguing that the NBA must preserve the professional and intellectual character of its annual gathering.

He said the conference should provide lawyers with an opportunity to engage with leading intellectuals, interrogate contemporary issues and exchange ideas on the future of the legal profession.

“The NBA Annual General Conference should be a place where lawyers encounter the best minds, challenge established ideas, interrogate contemporary problems and leave with a richer understanding of the law, society and the future of our profession,” he said.

“Entertainment has its place, but it must never replace intellectual substance.”

While acknowledging the concept of the presidential debate as commendable, the senior lawyer said its delivery, in his view, was below expectations.

Ubani also identified shortcomings in the welfare and comfort arrangements for participants, citing the absence of properly organised and easily accessible tea break venues, as well as lunch arrangements that he said were not centrally and conspicuously organised.

He further complained about the heat and discomfort in some of the halls used during the first and second days of the conference, describing the environment as unconducive to serious intellectual engagement.

According to him, such issues should not be dismissed as minor details, as the comfort and welfare of participants were integral to the success of any major conference.

“A lawyer who is struggling with heat, hunger, congestion and confusion cannot fully concentrate on the quality of discourse taking place around him or her,” he said.

Ubani also used the occasion to renew calls for greater investment in purpose-built convention centres across Nigeria, noting that the NBA Annual General Conference now attracts tens of thousands of lawyers.

He said facilities used for such gatherings were often not designed to accommodate conferences of that magnitude.

Nigeria, he argued, should have modern convention centres capable of accommodating at least 25,000 people, with adequate halls, air-conditioning, parking facilities, security, sanitation, exhibition spaces, restaurants, reliable electricity and efficient transportation arrangements.

He said the country had the resources to develop such infrastructure but appeared to lack the necessary vision, planning and commitment.

As the NBA prepares to usher in a new president, Ubani urged the incoming leadership to raise the standards of the Annual General Conference and place greater emphasis on planning, organisation, intellectual content and the quality of facilities.

“We must plan better. We must organise better. We must select our guests with greater care. We must prioritise intellectual substance over unnecessary spectacle and insist on facilities worthy of the Nigerian legal profession,” he said.

Ubani stressed that his assessment was only an interim report, expressing hope that the remaining days of the conference could offer some improvement and redemption.

“But as things stand today, my interim verdict on the 2026 NBA Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt is that it has been lacklustre, uninspiring and, in several respects, deeply disappointing,” he stated.

He said the large number of lawyers who travelled to Port Harcourt, particularly younger members of the profession who had heard favourable accounts of previous conferences in Abuja and Enugu, deserved a better experience.

Ubani maintained that the NBA, as the organiser of the largest gathering of lawyers in Africa, must ensure that its Annual General Conference reflects the highest standards of the Nigerian legal profession.

“The Nigerian Bar Association can do better. The Nigerian Bar Association must do better. And the lawyers of Nigeria demand something better, more attractive, more intellectually rewarding and more professionally dignified,” he said.

He added: “Our Annual General Conference must never become an ordinary gathering. It is the largest gathering of lawyers in Africa, and it must always reflect the best of the Nigerian legal profession.”

Acknowledging that others were entitled to hold contrary views, Ubani concluded: “You may differ, it is your right. I have said mine, it is my right.”

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