Discordant tunes in NBA
Former NBA President, Joseph B. Daudu, SAN, has said that there was no disquiet within the Nigerian Bar Association following the election of Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, as the new president of the association.
Daudu’s assertion is coming on the heels of indications of discordant tunes emanating within the association after the delegate’s conference which produced Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, as the president-elect last Tuesday.
Already, a member of the Abuja branch of the NBA has kicked against the alleged manipulation of the branch’s delegates list by the chairman, Mr Desmond Yamah before the July 15, 2014, election.
A member of the branch, Mr Innocent Ugbede Agala, in a petition to the chairman of NBA electoral committee, Mr OkeyAmaechi SAN, alleged that the Abuja chairman singlehandedly drew the delegates’ list without following the provisions of the bye-laws of the branch.
Article N (V) (A) & (B) of the bye-laws of the branch provides that delegates of the branch be shared from lawyers of one-year post call to the ones who have attained more than 20 years post call. It distributed the delegates in a manner that all members are represented. For instance, lawyers from one to five years post call are entitled to one delegate. Between five and 10 years post call are entitled to one delegate; 10-15 post call, one delegate; and 15-20 post call, one delegate. Also, lawyers in public service and past chairmen of the branch are entitled to a delegate each.
Moreover the bye-laws also provide that: “Where more delegate slots are allocated to the branch, it shall be distributed in the proportions listed above”. It also provides that “a delegate must have attended at least four meetings consecutively within 10 months preceding April of an election year and served the association in at least one committee.”
Agala in his petition stated that Abuja branch did not select its delegates at any of its meetings, whether in April or at any other time. “Abuja branch did not select its delegates in its April 2014 meeting held on 4th April, 2014 at M & M Events Centre, behind International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja or at any other meeting held on 16th May, 2014 and 13th June, 2014 at the same venue thereafter. The 47 names contained in the purported delegates’ list submitted were solely compiled and secretly transmitted by the branch chairman in flagrant disregard to the clear and unambiguous provisions of the branch byelaws.”
He therefore urged the electoral committee to reject the delegates’ list submitted by the Abuja branch chairman as ‘it is a gross breach of the constitution of the NBA and will consequently lead to a challenge of any elections conducted with the said list.’
Similarly, a group of lawyers who do not want their names in
print have raised eyebrows over what they termed “unconstitutional constitution amendment”.
The lawyers said that they were stunned as delegates to last Tuesday’s elections as they found smuggled into the programme an agenda tagged “Voting on constitutional amendment” when no notice of such amendment was given.
According to them, amendment of the NBA constitution is not done surreptitiously. “It is a transparent exercise commenced with a notice of same circulated to branches and then voted upon at an annual general meeting of the NBA after it might have been fully debated by members.
“A situation where a constitutional amendment is now smuggled into an election timetable at which only a limited number of persons are to participate is blatantly unconstitutional and should be rejected out rightly,” the group stated.
Sources close to the association had informed Daily Trust that the just concluded NBA election was scientifically rigged with allegations that some of the branch chairmen who formed the bulk of delegates during the election were reportedly given about N250, 000 each just as people monitored how the delegates voted. There were also allegations that one of the aspirants even gave more than that.
Another source told Daily Trust that there is a lot of disquiet about the NBA convention given the way money was allegedly used to see to the emergence of the new NBA president from Midwest Lawyers Forum while lawyers from the Southwest thought it was their turn.
“Delegates from the different states were allegedly sent transportation money and checked into hotels in Jabi, FCT, by agents of the new president who allegedly had federal support. It is said that at a point the south westerners considered running a parallel NBA to be known as “Law Society of Nigeria” as it happened when Bashir Dalhatu became president and Priscilla Kuye led another group.
Some of the young lawyers also complained that a group has hijacked the election
When contacted on telephone, Daudu said that there was no disquiet within the NBA, adding that the people were only unhappy because they lost the election.
“When l lost election I was not happy myself but I became mature. Anyone who wants to set up a parallel NBA is free because there is freedom of association,” Daudu said
When contacted, Dele Adesina who spoke through one of his aides, Mustapha Ogunsakin, said he was not interested in challenging the outcome of the elections.
Adesina added that if there was any group that wants to set up an alternative bar, that was not his business. He however said that he would make his feelings concerning the election known at the appropriate time.
on her part, Mrs. FunkeAdekoya SAN in her concession speech congratulated the incoming NBA president.
“To the incoming president, I offer my congratulations. May the Almighty be your guide. Our members have spoken and I bow to their will. However, we must continue to interrogate the pressing issues that assail our Bar association; we must demand probity, ethical conduct, policies that are in the best interest of lawyers, and hold our officers accountable to the highest standards,” she said.
The election took place Tuesday July 15, 2014 in Abuja and had five candidates that ran for the office of the president namely, Dele Adesina, SAN, Augustine Alegeh, SAN, OlufunkeAdekoya, SAN, AdeniyiAkintola, SAN and OsasErhabor.
Alegeh won the race with a total of 691 votes. His runner-up, Dele Adesina, SAN, had 370 votes, FunkeAdekoya got 255 votes, NiyiAkintola, 126 and OsasErhabor, 17 votes.