The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) recently confirmed the participation of businessman Obi Iyiegbu, famously known as Obi Cubana, who extended an invitation to Portable to headline the entertainment segment of its 2023 Annual General Conference.
Portable’s performance during the NBA’s ‘Unbarred’ concert has ignited significant controversy within legal circles.
A viral video capturing the artist ascending a piece of equipment during his performance further exacerbated the situation, triggering a wave of criticism from lawyers who expressed their discontent regarding Portable’s selection as the event’s guest artist.
In a Friday interview, NBA spokesperson Akorede Lawal officially verified that Portable’s involvement at the event was made possible through Obi Cubana’s collaboration with the program as the primary sponsor.
He said Cubana Group brought Portable because he was one of his brand ambassadors (Odogwu bitters) and because being the headline sponsor came with bringing a guest artiste to perform at the concert that usually has lawyers irrespective of their status 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.”
Speaking on whether lawyers staged a walkout on Portable at the event as speculated, he 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.”
