TheNigerian Bar Association (NBA) has declared that Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has no constitutional right to bar former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, from entering the state.

Mrs. Bridget Edokwe, spokesperson of the association, stated that no government authority has the constitutional power to restrict any Nigerian citizen’s movement within the country.

“Peter Obi does not need a visa to enter Edo State,” Edokwe asserted. “The statement is politics taken too far. The governor was wrong to have made such a declaration. Mr. Obi is not a foreigner and therefore does not require a visa to enter any Nigerian state.”

She cited Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that:

“Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.”

Furthermore, she referenced Chapter II of the Constitution, which mandates the state to “provide adequate facilities for and encourage free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the Federation.”