The Nigerian Bar Association has debunked the rumor that the performer was paid to appear at the association’s 2023 Annual General Conference on Thursday by explaining why musician Habeeb Okikiola, also known as Portable, sang at the event.
Late Friday night, online users criticized the NBA for bringing Portable to their event, which featured “learned” people, saying that by doing so, the organization damaged its standing and lowered itself to “razz.”
Others claim that the program was a joke and a disgrace to the traditionally conservative legal community.
However, in his response, NBA National Publicity Secretary Akorede Lawal connected Portable’s attendance at the event to musician Obi Cubana’s participation with the show as the main sponsor in an exclusive interview with PUNCH on Friday.
He added that the latter’s Cubana Group brought Portable because he served as a brand ambassador for one of their products (Odogwu bitters) and because being the headline sponsor required bringing a guest performer to the “Unbarred concert,” which typically features lawyers of all ranks to close the conference.
Lawal said, “We did not pay a dime to Portable for the concert. It is the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world and so to that extent, we always write to sponsors to finance every level of our events.
“We have partners from America, Chile, and a host of other countries who pride in what we do and take it upon themselves to get the programme financed annually.
Speaking on whether lawyers staged a walkout on Portable at the event, the publicity secretary said, “No, they did not. The Friendship Centre is the customary place where all lawyers go to unwind, network and do all other social activities.
“So, the concert was meant to take place there but we later told the lawyers to move to the ‘Unbarred concert’ at the Velodrome of the National Stadium in Abuja because we don’t want two events at the same time given that that place (Friendship Centre) had been decorated already to promote their brands.
“They were the headline sponsor of the centre and that’s where the DJs and every other social activities had been going on since the start of the event. So we closed the place down to have a unified event,” he added.
He further appreciated the Cubana Group for sponsoring the event.
The conference tagged “Getting it right” marked the 63rd and it started on Friday, August 25 to Wednesday, August 30, 2023, with several activities earmarked for the occasion.
