Confab Delegates: NBA Rejects Single Nomination
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, January 31, (THEWILL) - As reactions continue to trail Federal Government's unveiling of the modalities for the proposed National Conference, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has rejected the one slot allocated to it.
NBA president, Okey Wali ( SAN) in a protest letter to the Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, in Abuja on Friday, described the single slot for the body as disappointing.
The protest letter said; "The Nigerian Bar Association received with utmost disappointment the statement credited to you on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, requesting the Nigerian Bar Association to nominate one delegate to the upcoming National Conference.
"We write to place on record our dissatisfaction with the list of conference delegates, particularly, when put against representations from some other organisations and bodies.
" Wali lamented that other associations with fewer membership compared with the NBA were allowed to nominate more than one delegates to the conference, saying in view of the fact that so many legal issues would be addressed at the National Conference, "it is only fitting and proper for the umbrella association of all lawyers in Nigeria, the Nigerian Bar Association, to have more than one delegate at the National conference.
" Wali argued that the National Conference is an area where lawyers possess enormous expertise and will definitely add a lot of value to the process.
"We do not want to think that our expertise is neither appreciated nor welcome.
This is not glory seeking, this is about adding value to the process, because the good of this country, is the good of the Bar and so we are determined to give whatever is needed to make our country great.
"We do not believe that the single slot given to the Nigerian Bar Association will be impactive enough, and so, we request that you, please, reconsider the one slot offer to the Nigerian Bar Association, as we regrettably will be unable to accept that offer.
"We hold it in your favour, that this may very well be an oversight, and that the Federal government will have no difficulty in revisiting the issue," he said.
He noted that NBA is a membership-based professional and legal organisation of all lawyers in Nigeria with 104 branches across the 36 states and Abuja and it is organised into various practice sections, fora, institutes and committees.
He said the association speaks for the legal profession both the Bar and Bench.
He maintained that over the years, a national conference had been one of the imperatives that defined the priorities of the association.
"Infact, it was a past President of the Nigerian Bar Association; the late Alao-Aka Bashorun, that first called for a National Conference and since then, the Nigerian Bar Association has been in the forefront of the National Conference discourse", he added.
He said that as a demonstration of the association's seriousness and commitment to a successful national conference, it had on the January 7 set up the Nigerian Bar Association National conference committee under the chairmanship of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the Secretary (the only committee or forum or section of the Nigerian Bar Association with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as secretary.
See copy of letter: " http://thewillnigeria.
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