The controversy surrounding the alleged ₦40 million support from the Imo State Government to the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) has taken another turn following a response by Mr. Anthony Ibe, Esq., after the Forum publicly clarified that it received only ₦9 million for its July 2026 quarterly meeting.
In a statement issued by the Governing Council of the Eastern Bar Forum, the Forum firmly rejected the claim that it received ₦40 million, insisting that its financial records showed only one payment of ₦9 million from the Imo State Government.
According to the Forum, the issue was not a matter of interpretation but a matter of verifiable records.
“The only amount received by the Eastern Bar Forum from the Government of Imo State in connection with the meeting was ₦9 million, and that receipt was duly acknowledged,” the Forum stated.
Following that clarification, Mr. Anthony Ibe responded, acknowledging the Forum’s position but insisting that his original argument remained valid. According to him, his concern was not necessarily the exact figure received by EBF but the broader issue of government support for Bar activities.
“I acknowledge the clarification that the Forum received ₦9 million, and not ₦40 million, from the Imo State Government in connection with its Second Quarterly Meeting,” the APC chieftain stated.
However, rather than address the central controversy surrounding the inaccurate ₦40 million figure, the Mbaitoli LGA All Progressives Congress [APC] Secretary shifted attention to what he described as inconsistency in the criticism of government support. “My intervention was not intended to litigate the Forum’s accounting records or to insist that an amount which the Forum says it never received was in fact received,” he wrote.
That position has raised questions among observers because the original controversy was triggered by the alleged amount of ₦40 million. The EBF’s clarification effectively removed that figure from the discussion, leaving the debate to revolve around whether the publication created a misleading impression before the clarification was made.
Mr. Ibe argued that the more important issue was whether those criticising government support today had previously accepted similar support in the past.
“What deserves unbiased scrutiny, therefore, is not merely the figure, but the selective application of principle surrounding government support for Bar activities,” he stated.
He further questioned why individuals who now raise concerns about government influence allegedly did not object when government assistance was previously received. “Is the objection really to government support, or is the objection to the amount allegedly received? The distinction is important,” Mr. Ibe argued.
He also referenced a previous instance where, according to him, Mr. Chinedu’s administration received government support during a 2021 Law Week programme. “During Mr. Chinedu’s tenure as Secretary, his administration secured ₦15 million from the Government for the 2021 Law Week,” Mr. Ibe stated.
While that argument introduces a discussion about consistency and principles, critics may argue that it does not directly answer the fundamental issue raised by the EBF – whether the ₦40 million claim was accurate.
The Eastern Bar Forum maintained that its records were clear and that it had no knowledge of any ₦40 million payment. “For the avoidance of any doubt, if indeed ₦40 million was approved by the Governor of Imo State for the Eastern Bar Forum, we state without equivocation that the Forum never received such money and it is not within our knowledge that any such sum was paid to the Forum,” the Forum stated.
The unfolding exchange therefore presents an interesting legal and ethical question – when a public claim contains a disputed figure, is the clarification of the actual figure merely a side issue, or does it fundamentally affect the credibility of the original publication?
For now, the records presented by EBF remain that the Forum received ₦9 million, not ₦40 million. Mr. Ibe maintains that the larger issue is the principle of government support and whether critics have applied their objections consistently.
As lawyers often say, facts matter. And in this matter, the most important fact acknowledged by all sides appears to be that the figure at the centre of the initial controversy was not the amount received by the Forum.
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