Niger Delta Summit: NDCCITMA insists event will hold despite legal tussle

The Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) has insisted that its forthcoming Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit will proceed as scheduled, despite the legal dispute over the use of the summit’s name.

NDCCITMA’s lawyer, S.A. Somiari, SAN, also accused the opposing party of “forum shopping” by filing a fresh suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja while an earlier case on the same subject matter remains pending in Port Harcourt.

The legal position was set out in a statement issued by Sammie Somiari & Associates, solicitors to NDCCITMA, at the weekend.

The chamber is scheduled to host the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit from September 15 to 17, 2026, in Port Harcourt, under the theme “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta.”

Somiari said the substantive dispute over ownership and use of the trademark “Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit” was already before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/57/2026.

According to him, the court had earlier directed the parties to maintain the status quo pending determination of the application before it.

He said, “That order is still subsisting, valid and binding until it is varied or set aside by a competent court.”

The lawyer further alleged that, despite the pending Port Harcourt proceedings, the opposing party instituted another action at the Federal High Court, Abuja, over the same subject matter.

“The institution of the Abuja action, in the circumstances, constitutes forum shopping and an abuse of the process of Court,” Somiari said.

He maintained that filing another suit did not automatically extinguish or override an earlier pending action, arguing that parties must obey existing court orders until a competent court varies or discharges them.

Somiari also said NDCCITMA had followed due process in its attempt to secure registration of the disputed trademark, stating that the chamber commenced registration in Class 35 on August 7, 2025, and subsequently received an acceptance letter from the Trademarks Registry.

He said efforts to resolve the dispute administratively also failed after the parties met at the Acting Registrar of Trademarks’ invitation.

“Our client found the terms unacceptable and did not execute it. No settlement was reached,” he said.

On the forthcoming summit, the NDCCITMA lawyer was emphatic that the legal dispute would not stop the event.

He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the trademark dispute does not affect the legitimacy of the Summit,” adding that the chamber “remains committed to hosting the Summit from 15th–17th September, 2026.”

He urged delegates, partners and members of the public to rely on official communication from NDCCITMA, saying the dispute should ultimately be resolved through the courts rather than through public statements.

“We call on all parties to respect court orders, judges most especially, and allow the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Judicial Division to determine the matter in finality,” Somiari said.