ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE NBA NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (“NEC”) MEETING AT THE NBA SECRETARIAT IN ABUJA.
My Dear Colleagues
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the 2018/2019 Quarter 3 NEC meeting of our great Association. We thank the Almighty for journey mercies from our various destinations for this meeting. This is the second NEC meeting of our administration and it is interesting to observe how time flies: almost seven months of our tenure is already gone and we are left with a year and a half to cram in so much that must be achieved for the betterment of our members, our Association and the Nigerian society. So, what have we achieved in the months after our last Quarterly NEC Meeting that was held on 06 December 2018? I will in the succeeding paragraphs give you, my dear colleagues, a summary of our activities in the last several months.
Last Quarter Significant Activities
Online Payment Platform
One of our significant achievements this year has been the introduction of online payment system for the payment of Bar Practice Fees (“BPF”) by our members. Gone are the days when our members had no choice but to queue at banking halls and go through the tedious manual processes for the payment of their BPF. Now they can make their payments online from the comfort of their homes or wherever else they may be, at any time of the day or night including weekends and even from outside Nigeria. The plan which is already in the works is to extend this online payment facility to cover payments for all other NBA National-related fees and dues payable by our members and third parties.
Financial Accountability, Transparency and Prudence
We have, at this NEC meeting, published the Management Accounts of our Association for Quarter 2 of 2018/2019. That is a promise kept and a statement made on the resolve of your National Officers to be consistent in being financially accountable and transparent in the management of the NBA’s funds. Our commitment which you should hold us to is that, not a Quarter will pass in the two years of our administration without our publishing the NBA’s Quarterly Financial Statement. One of the positive knock-on consequences and effects of financial accountability and transparency is that it forces prudence on the managers of the Association’s funds, knowing as we do, that there must be an accounting to our members for every expenditure that we make as published in the Financial Statements. That fact is always present in our minds and, in part, informs the prudent management of the Association’s funds by this administration as you would find in our Q2 Management Accounts which we would present to this august body shortly.
Secretariat Reforms
As part of our campaigns, we had committed to institute internal reforms in our Secretariat such that it would be responsive to our members’ needs and serve the Association better. The feedback I receive from our members almost on a daily basis has been overwhelming in that regard. I have heard from members how their problems were resolved in quick time merely through phone calls to our Secretariat personnel. It is no longer news that stamps are delivered to our members within days of the orders being received at the Secretariat from the Branches. The extremely
few complaints that we have received in this regard were resolved in quick time and always in a manner that exonerated our National Secretariat of any blame or fault. To enhance the Secretariat’s efficiency, we would be placing before you, our NEC members, in the course of this meeting, for your kind approval, a new fit-for- purpose organogram.
One of the innovations in the new organogram is the inclusion of the position of an Internal Auditor. In any properly organized establishment, the Internal Auditor is significant livewire personnel for ensuring prudence and accountability in financial management. His role is so central to achieving these ideals such that no serious and successful organization operates in modern times without the personnel that fulfills that role. In our match towards the entrenchment of financial transparency, accountability and prudence, we consider that position critical for the NBA and we are counting on the support of the NEC in approving the new organogram which includes that function.
Website Revamp
Work has started on the revamping and modernization of our website. The NBA deserves a modern website with the right customer experience, aesthetics and functionality and that is what we are committed to unveiling by or before the next NEC meeting. Websites, apart from serving as information portals have their functional uses. Their interactive profile in modern times allows for online resolution of problems and issues by visitors to the website. These are attributes that absent but which we will be introducing in our revamped and modernized website.
Prior to now, separate standalone websites were created each year for our Annual General Conference (“AGC”). From this year, our AGC portal will be hosted in our NBA website and there would be no need for the award of yearly contracts for the creation of websites solely for our AGC event. Some of our Sections currently have their own independent standalone websites which are not linked to the NBA website. SPIDEL is the only one without a website and the plan is for that Section to be housed and hosted at the NBA website. Links would be created between the modernized NBA website and the current standalone SBL and SPL websites.
As earlier mentioned,the online payment platform which is hosted at the NBA website would be enhanced to cover online payments of all fees and dues to the Association. The website enhancement would include the creation of an online platform for ordering stamps in a manner that would ensure that branch dues and other branch levies are fully paid and satisfied by the person making the order as a condition precedent to the placement of the orders. Let me quickly assure that we would, in expanding these frontiers ensure that the Branches are fully carried along and their concerns addressed and resolved.
2019 National Elections’ Monitoring
The 2019 National Elections have come and are gone albeit with the rumbles remaining. We acquitted ourselves very well in monitoring those elections and publishing objective, fact-based reports thereon. As you would recall, the Osun State Governorship elections provided us with a test-run in the monitoring of this year’s elections and we did not lower nor deviate from the high standards that that were set by our monitors in that election. I must here thank all our members countrywide who volunteered for the monitoring exercise and duly sent their reports including photographic images to the National Committee for compilation of our reports. For the Governorship Elections that were held on 09 March 2019, the Branches did not receive a dime from the National body and yet, our members joyfully and enthusiastically volunteered and creditably carried out their monitoring functions and sent reports to the National Committee the end result of which is the final Monitoring Committee Report that would be presented to NEC at this meeting.
Welfare of Members
Our members have for some time now been clamouring for the resuscitation of the life insurance cover that used to be in place for our members, but which unfortunately was not renewed and was therefore not operative in the last couple of years. We have hearkened to the calls of our members and, apart from having discussions with Leadway Assurance Plc, the company that originally provided us with the insurance cover that became defunct, we have held talks with WAPIC Insurance Plc, another reputable insurance company. Both organizations have made presentations to us on insurance covers that extend beyond life and include medical expenses, temporary and permanent disabilities and critical illness benefits. Their proposals have been uploaded and placed before NEC for final consideration and approval. As soon as approval is obtained, we would work to reinstitute this welfare package for the benefit of our members.
Technical Committee for Conference Planning (“TCCP”)
This year, we started the planning of our Annual General Conference quite early. NEC had, during our 06 December 2018 meeting, graciously given me the anticipatory approval to constitute the Committee which I did and would presently, in the course of this meeting, present the membership list to members. One of the innovations that we introduced in the constitution of this year’s TCCP is that we appointed three Chairmen from each of the NBA Zones as members of the Committee and representatives of their respective zones. The Chairmen directly feel the pulse of our members in the Branches and we believe that those of them that have been appointed as members of the TCCP would better appreciate the thought-process that goes into the planning and organization of the AGC apart from their bringing fresh and vibrant perspectives into the Committee’s work schedule. We are confident that this year’s TCCP will deliver on the promise of a world-class AGC that would be within the economic reach of our members. The Committee would be presenting their first report to NEC very shortly.
Rule of Law
Perhaps,the single most dominant and talked-about issue in our professional life this year has been issues and matters concerning our Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honorable Mr. Walter S N Onnoghen, GCON (“Onnoghen CJN”). Our current travails as represented by the Onnoghen CJN saga is too well known to all of us and too painful to bear recounting. Suffice to state that throughout this unfortunate and bewildering incident, the NBA has stood on the side and in defense of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the principles of separation of powers between the three arms of government. As we have consistently pointed out, the Onnoghen CJN incident is but a metaphor for these immortal and immutable principles. It reminds us of how dangerously insecure the tenure of our judicial officers is, by extension, how susceptible to attack the independence of our judiciary is. These principles, we must reiterate, have no political, tribal or religious colourations and the positions of the NBA were impervious and blind to these divisive and inhibiting considerations.
We must commend our members who stood up to be counted in the struggle for the promotion and protection of the rule of law vis-à-vis the Onnoghen CJN saga and it is our earnest hope that the Executive arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria would see reason not only to terminate the on-going ugly and self-immolating spectacle at the Code of Conduct Tribunal but also find a way to resolve all the surrounding issues relating to Onnoghen CJN in a way and manner that would retrieve for us all and in our collective interest what may be left of the shredded and tattered dignity of our justice sector. The NBA remains unrelenting in its campaign in this regard.
Focus in the Coming Months
I must, at this point, highlight some of the significant issues and activities that will engage our minds and occupy our time and efforts in the coming months before our next NEC meeting:
Constitution and Electoral Review
NEC had graciously granted mean anticipatory approval for the composition of the Constitution and Electoral Review Committee. We would be publishing the composition of the Committee in the next couple of days with matching orders for them to consult with our members and Branches and come up with a reviewed Constitution and Electoral process for our Association. Similar to the composition of our TCCP, we would ensure that representative Chairmen are appointed to this Committee from the Branches. The Committee would have a timeline that would ensure the presentation of the amended Constitution at our Annual General Meeting that would be held during the AGC in August 2019.
Alternative Sources of Funds
Given the Association’s debt overhang as shown in our Financial Statement, it is imperative that we have alternative sources of funds. This is an area that we would be working quite hard at in the coming months including raising funds from our patrons and members. We would update NEC with our efforts in this regard.
Clean Data Capture.
We have already started working on the verification of our membership data as a prelude to creating a clean database of our members which would be used for all purposes including but not at all limited to our NBA elections. This was one of our significant campaign promises and we are hoping to be largely done with this project by or before the AGC in August 2019.
Young Lawyers
In the coming days and months, we would pay more than the ordinary attention to issues concerning our young lawyers starting with the constitution of the Council of the Young Lawyers Forum for which NEC had graciously granted me an anticipatory approval during the 06 December 2018 meeting. Happily, we have great champions of young lawyers amongst the National Officers one of the leading ones being Akorede Habeeb Lawal, our Assistant Publicity Secretary. He could easily pass as one of the most young-lawyers-centric members of our Team and he bubbles with several ideas and thoughts concerning young lawyers most of which he has shared with me and which we plan to implement in the coming months.
Rule of Law
The promotion and protection of the Rule of Law is the lead motif of and for our Association. It permeates the entirety of our professional lives and is not dated howsoever; it is a principle and fight that is immutable and alive at all times and demands eternal vigilance. We would continue to live up to our commitment in this regard. In the coming months, we would beam even more searchlight into the crevices of our national life where the Rule of Law and its twin principle, the Fundamental Rights of our people, may be under assault and in bondage. We would continue to speak out in defense of these principles and will equally commend the authorities when such commendations are deserved
FRN v Usoro
I cannot conclude this Address without updating you, my NEC members, on my prosecution by the EFCC on allegations of money laundering. I had presented to you during our 06 December 2018 NEC meeting the facts of this Charge. Those facts have not changed howsoever. The Proof of Evidence which was subsequently served on me does not contain any fact that contradicts the position that I presented to you, to wit, that I am being prosecuted for (a) professional fees totaling N1.1bn that were legitimately earned and paid to Paul Usoro & Co (“PUC”) by Akwa Ibom State Government (“AKSG”) between 2015 and 2016; and (b) professional fees totaling N300m that were paid to PUC by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State for the benefit of our colleagues who provided professional services to the Governor.
The PUC Bank Statement of Account that forms part of the Proof of Evidence clearly shows that the N300m was duly paid to those colleagues of ours who rendered those services to the Governor. The N1.1bn was not and is not the property of AKSG and nobody, apart from the EFCC, has claimed otherwise. The N300m to the best of my knowledge was not paid from the coffers of AKSG and no one apart from the EFCC has so claimed. As the trial unfolds, we will keep our members duly informed.
I must thank all our members, from the depths of my heart, for the overwhelming support and solidarity that Mfon and I have enjoyed and received from all of you across the nation. You have seen this persecution for what it is: a struggle for the soul of our profession and means of livelihood and not just the persecution of Paul. We are so very touched by your faith in us and your show of love, from telephone calls, personal visits, text messages and other forms of communication. I must also thank most sincerely, my team of lawyers, led by our past President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN for all their work on my behalf. We cannot repay you for this show of faith and love for and in us. Our prayers is that the Almighty will reward you all abundantly. We feel confident that our collective efforts would be rewarded and truth will ultimately out and we will all be vindicated.
Perhaps, I need to mention here that my current persecution is not isolated. As a profession, we are under siege. For the very first time, both in our country’s history and in the history of our Association, the NBA Elections of 2018 has been the subject of purported investigation by the EFCC. I do not believe that such an investigation is within the purview of the EFCC, seeing as there was no financial or economic crime that was alleged. I am also not aware that the EFCC has taken as much interest in the activities of other professionals and their associations as it has taken in our profession and our Association, particularly in recent years. To put it mildly, our profession and indeed the justice sector, I repeat, is under siege. Even the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (“ICPC”) has taken to inviting our past Presidents and General Secretaries for questioning over the contract award for the construction of our National Secretariat.
But then,these agencies do not act alone; they act in close collaboration with some of our members. The petition that triggered the purported EFCC investigation into our 2018 Elections, for example, was written by one of our members. Indeed, we have taken to reporting ourselves to the EFCC even in internal matters of the Association which could be resolved internally. We do need to rethink our ways and reassess our circumstances in this regard, in our collective interest, for our collective good and for the good of our profession and our Association.
Conclusion
In concluding, I must thank the President of the National Industrial Court, Honorable Justice B A Adejumo, for graciously sponsoring the cocktail that was held for our NEC members last night, Wednesday, 27 March 2019. The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Honorable Justice Ishaq Bello, was kind enough to provide us with the venue for the cocktail. Our gratitude also goes to our distinguished colleague, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, who is partially sponsoring the dinner event this evening for our members. Access Bank Plc has also donated for the hosting of this NEC meeting and we thank them most sincerely.
Once again, I thank all of you, my NEC members, for your support and consistent encouragement. I wish us all fruitful deliberations in this NEC meeting and a safe journey back to our various Branches. Long live the Nigerian Bar Association. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Paul Usoro, SAN President