Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara(left) and George Weah, former President of Liberia at the 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has urged judges to consider the wider implications of their judgments on the nation’s political stability, peace and development, insisting that justice must prevail irrespective of the status or affiliations of litigants.

Fubara spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt while declaring open the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), themed “Beyond Limits.”

The governor said the quality of justice delivered by the courts was inseparably linked to law and order, democratic stability and national development.

He urged judges to resist political manipulation, corruption, undue delays, technicalities and rigid adherence to outdated precedents, which he said had continued to undermine public confidence in the judiciary.

“We cannot continue to insulate our laws from today’s reality; neither should justice remain shackled by unjust precedents, technicalities, inadequate access, undue delays, slavish adherence to rigid processes, political manipulation, or brazen corruption,” he said.

Fubara said the judiciary remained indispensable to the sustenance of democracy, good governance and economic development, stressing that courts should remain the ultimate refuge for every citizen seeking justice, accountability and protection of constitutional rights.

According to him, the law must protect the security and wellbeing of citizens, guarantee equality before the law and safeguard fundamental human rights.

He added that judges, as “ultimate guardians” of democracy and the rule of law, should not become “mere apologists or conformists,” but must demonstrate courage, integrity, sound knowledge of the law and strong legal reasoning in holding both government and citizens accountable.

President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe ( left), welcoming Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State (right) to the 2026 Annual General Conference of the NBA in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

The governor also called on members of the legal profession to rise above real and perceived constraints in defending the Constitution and advancing the rights of Nigerians.

He recalled Rivers State’s experience in navigating political challenges, saying the state had “walked through the furnace of power” and emerged more determined to protect its unity, peace and development.

In his keynote address, former Liberian President, George Weah, similarly called for an independent and fearless judiciary as a bulwark against threats to democracy.

Weah warned that attacks on democracy were not limited to military coups, violence or defeated political leaders refusing to relinquish power, but could also emerge when judicial institutions were weakened and prevented from performing their constitutional responsibilities.

He said democracy should not be judged only by what happens on election day, stressing that it must be defended and strengthened every day through strong institutions.

“Democracy cannot survive on strong men but on strong institutions,” he said.

The former Liberian leader also condemned governments that profess democracy while undermining the judiciary through corruption and political manipulation.
He charged lawyers and judges to remain impartial and courageous in the discharge of their responsibilities, stressing that an independent judiciary protected by a fearless legal profession was essential to safeguarding citizens’ rights and freedoms.

The conference brought together lawyers, judges, policymakers and other stakeholders in the justice sector to deliberate on the challenges confronting Nigeria’s legal and democratic institutions.
— Onwuka Nzeshi, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Rivers State, August 23, 2026.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disclose and publish the limits it has prescribed for political donations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a Freedom of Information request dated August 22, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to disclose whether the commission had exercised its statutory powers under Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, to limit the amount individuals may contribute to political parties or candidates.

The organisation also asked INEC to publish the applicable limits and communicate them widely to political parties, candidates, donors and the Nigerian public.

SERAP said transparency in political financing was critical to ensuring a level playing field in the 2027 elections and enabling voters to make free and informed political choices.

It urged the commission to disclose the systems, personnel and procedures it had established to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with political contribution and campaign expenditure limits during the electoral process.

The organisation also demanded details of INEC’s methodology for monitoring political financing, including how it planned to track cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social media financing, third-party expenditure and donations channelled through intermediaries to circumvent statutory limits.

According to SERAP, INEC’s constitutional responsibility extends beyond receiving financial statements from political parties.

“The Constitution requires the Commission to examine political-party finances, conduct necessary investigations and report to the National Assembly,” the organisation said, urging the commission to publish the relevant reports so Nigerians could assess whether it had discharged its constitutional and statutory obligations.

SERAP warned that the increasing monetisation of elections, coupled with the potential misuse of state institutions, posed serious threats to democratic integrity and fair electoral competition.

“Voters, journalists and civil-society organisations cannot effectively scrutinise political financing if the applicable limits are not easily accessible or if there is no publicly known mechanism for monitoring compliance,” it said.

The organisation argued that disclosure of political financing would enable citizens to identify excessive, undisclosed or potentially illicit funding before such resources could distort electoral competition.

SERAP further raised concerns over Nigeria’s longstanding challenges in regulating political finance, including excessive campaign spending, opaque funding sources, weak disclosure mechanisms and limited enforcement of statutory contribution and expenditure rules.

It said previous assessments of Nigerian elections had highlighted gaps between the legal framework and its implementation, particularly the circumvention of spending limits and the failure to identify and sanction violations effectively.

“Citizens cannot meaningfully exercise their political rights if undisclosed or excessive financial resources are allowed to distort the political process,” SERAP said.

The organisation specifically cited Section 91(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which empowers INEC to limit the amount of money or other assets an individual may contribute to a political party or candidate and to demand information on the amount donated and source of funds.

It urged INEC to explain whether it had exercised the power and, if so, the methodology and criteria used in determining the limits.

SERAP also invoked Sections 225 and 226 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which provide for the examination of political parties’ accounts, investigations and submission of reports to the National Assembly.

Among other demands, SERAP asked INEC to publish the latest detailed statements of political parties’ assets, liabilities, sources of funds and expenditure; annual statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns for 2023 to 2025; and its political-finance examination and audit reports submitted to the National Assembly during the period.

It also demanded disclosure of enforcement actions taken over political-finance violations and INEC’s 2027 political-finance monitoring plan, including arrangements for real-time or near-real-time monitoring and cooperation with anti-corruption, financial-intelligence, regulatory and law-enforcement agencies.

The organisation further asked INEC to disclose the political parties that submitted reports of contributions received after the 2023 general elections, the dates of submission and actions taken against parties that failed to comply with the statutory deadline.

SERAP gave INEC seven days to provide the requested information, warning that it would take “all appropriate legal actions” to compel compliance if the commission failed to respond.

The organisation said effective regulation of political finance remained an important safeguard for constitutional democracy, equality of political participation, freedom of expression and association, electoral integrity and citizens’ meaningful participation in public affairs.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Coordinator in Rivers State, Mr Moses Oleghe, has urged corps members to deploy Nigeria’s rich cultural diversity as a tool for national unity, peace and development rather than allowing cultural differences to fuel division and chaos.

Oleghe gave the charge during the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream II inter-platoon cultural carnival held at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Nonwa-Gbam, in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Addressing the corps members, the coordinator described them as “elite youths and graduates” with the intellectual capacity to promote cultural revival and reshape practices that could strengthen peaceful coexistence across communities.

He urged them to use the knowledge acquired through their academic training and life experiences to promote cultural practices that respect and uphold fundamental human rights.

According to him, corps members should help dispel the “ignorance and darkness” associated with harmful cultural practices while preserving traditions that promote dignity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Oleghe said the diversity of Nigeria’s cultures should be regarded as a strength capable of bringing citizens together, rather than a source of conflict.

He therefore challenged the corps members to become ambassadors of cultural understanding in their places of primary assignment and communities, using their privileged position as educated young Nigerians to promote unity and national cohesion.

The Special Guest of Honour, Commander, 6 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, Brigadier-General A.A. Bello, expressed delight at the quality of cultural displays by the corps members.

Bello urged them to contribute to building the Nigeria of their dreams through discipline, patriotism, integrity and hard work.

He reminded the corps members that they constituted the “successor generation” and were already at the threshold of leadership, stressing that the responsibility of making Nigeria work and succeed would increasingly fall on them.

“You are the successor generation; therefore, it behoves you to make Nigeria work and succeed,” he said.

The cultural carnival featured colourful displays reflecting Nigeria’s diverse traditions and cultural heritage, with 10 Platoon emerging winner of the competition.

7 Platoon came second, while 4 Platoon took the third position.

The competition was sponsored by Peak Milk, which rewarded the three winning platoons with cash prizes of N100,000, N50,000 and N25,000 respectively.

The event underscored the capacity of Nigeria’s cultural diversity to serve not as a fault line for division, but as a bridge for unity, understanding and lasting peace.