As the Bar’s 66th Annual General Conference enters another evening of high-level conversations, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, will deliver the keynote dinner address in Port Harcourt
PORT HARCOURT — After two days of intense debate on democracy, governance, policing, elections, security, economic reform and the future of legal practice, the Nigerian Bar Association will step away from the conference hall this evening for one of the most anticipated social occasions of its 66th Annual General Conference.
The NBA President’s Dinner, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, August 25, 2026, will bring together senior members of the Bench and Bar, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Bar leaders and distinguished guests at the conference venue in Port Harcourt. The NBA describes the occasion as an evening of fellowship and distinguished company, with attendance by invitation and ticket.
The principal speaker for the evening is Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, former Vice-President of Nigeria and a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State. His appearance gives the dinner a significant constitutional and political dimension, particularly as the conference has spent much of its opening days examining the state of Nigeria’s democracy, governance and institutions.
Osinbajo’s address comes at a conference where the legal profession has been confronted with questions extending well beyond conventional legal practice. Under the theme “Beyond Limits ’26,” delegates have been examining issues ranging from democratic governance and policing to artificial intelligence, taxation, banking regulation, arbitration, resource control and access to justice.
The President’s Dinner is being hosted by NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, whose tenure has brought the Association’s 66th AGC to Port Harcourt after the conference’s earlier controversy over its location and the political circumstances surrounding Rivers State.
The social occasion comes as the conference enters its third substantive day, with Tuesday’s programme devoted largely to security, economy and enterprise. Sessions have examined insecurity, resource control, tax reform, banking regulation, cryptocurrency, arbitration, aviation law, sovereign wealth and public procurement.
For the Bar, however, tonight’s gathering will offer a different setting from the formal sessions and plenaries. The courtroom arguments will give way to conversation, professional friendships and the informal exchanges that have long been an important part of the NBA’s annual gathering.
And with Osinbajo delivering the dinner address, the occasion carries more than ceremonial significance.
The former Vice-President is one of Nigeria’s best-known lawyer-politicians and a familiar figure in conversations about constitutional governance, public institutions and the rule of law. His address will come after a conference opening in which former Liberian President George Weah warned African leaders against allowing elected governments to drift towards authoritarian rule, while other speakers have raised concerns about institutional independence, security and the protection of democratic values.
The NBA’s official programme places the President’s Dinner alongside the conference’s other major social and professional engagements, including the Welcome Cocktail, Cultural Night, Friendship Centre, football final and Unbarred.
For one evening, the Bar will leave the courtroom behind.
But given the conversations that have dominated the 2026 AGC, the dinner table may prove almost as interesting as the conference hall.
