2026 NBA AGC Falls Short of Expectations, Says Senior Advocate Monday Ubani
Comparing the current event to last year’s widely praised conference in Enugu, Ubani warned that unless organizers achieve a dramatic turnaround in the remaining days, the 2026 gathering risks ranking among the least memorable NBA conferences in recent history. According to him, the positive reviews that followed the Enugu conference—particularly for its organization, traffic management, ease of movement, and hospitality—may have driven this year's large turnout, especially among younger lawyers.
Ubani expressed concern over the declining intellectual rigor of Africa's largest gathering of lawyers. He faulted the quality of basic conference materials, noting that the official conference bag did not reflect the dignity and intellectual character expected of the legal profession.
He also questioned the suitability of some invited resource persons and highlighted the substandard delivery of the presidential debate, insisting that the NBA must preserve the professional standards of its flagship event.
"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," Ubani stated. "Entertainment has its place, but it must never replace intellectual substance."
Delegates in Port Harcourt have faced significant discomfort, according to the senior lawyer. He detailed major administrative lapses that hindered full participation:
Unconducive Environments: Poorly ventilated, overcrowded, and uncomfortably hot halls during the first and second days.
Welfare Shortfalls: Disorganized tea break venues and lunch arrangements that were not centrally or conspicuously coordinated.
Participant Discomfort: Administrative failures that distract delegates from key discussions.
"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 noted.
Highlighting that the AGC regularly draws tens of thousands of attendees, Ubani renewed calls for Nigeria to invest in purpose-built, world-class convention facilities. He argued that existing facilities used for such gatherings were rarely designed to accommodate crowds of this scale.
Nigeria, he asserted, has the resources—though lacks the sustained vision and planning—to construct modern convention centers capable of accommodating at least 25,000 people, fully equipped with adequate halls, air-conditioning, parking, security, sanitation, exhibition spaces, restaurants, reliable electricity, and efficient transport links.
As the NBA prepares to usher in a new president, Ubani urged incoming leadership to raise organizational standards and place far greater emphasis on planning, intellectual content, and venue quality.
"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.
While stressing that his assessment remains an interim report and hoping for improvement before the event concludes, Ubani maintained that the large number of delegates—especially younger lawyers—deserves a vastly superior experience.
"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," Ubani concluded. "Our Annual General Conference must never become an ordinary gathering."
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