HOT OFFER: AFFORDABLE AGC HOTELS BECKON IN LEKKI

Timeoak Hotels & Spa, Lekki, Lagos is offering a whopping 25% discount to participants at the 2022 NBA Annual General Conference.

Timeoak Hotel consists two luxury hotels located in Lekki Phase 1, about 20 minutes’ drive to the AGC venue in Victoria Island, Lagos.

TimeOak is an exquisite budget hotel in the heart of Lekki. It offers free excellent luxury services such as free beach tour, free airport shuttle, open roof-top bar overlooking the entire Lekki Peninsula up to the Atlantic Ocean, daily swimming pool, barbecue and karaoke, and many more. Relax after a day’s work in our luxury Spa and get Sauna steam bath and full body massage at discounted rates as low as N10,000.

Enjoy our FREE gym, FREE wifi, complimentary breakfast, modern bistro coffee bar, and courteous customer services, all at a discounted rate you will never get anywhere else in upscale Lekki, Lagos island.

Our kitchen is the No. 1 food plug in Lekki, with widely enjoyed dishes sold across the island through our online channel, www.timeoakdelicacies.com.

Excellent services at rock-bottom prices are the hallmark of Timeoak Hotels & Spa, Lekki,.

You have a choice of staying in our luxury rooms at the Timeoak Luxury Hotel & Spa, 59 Omorinre Johnson Street. Contact us on 07049445099 or at our Timeoak Royale Hotel at 12 Nike Art Gallary Road, Ikate (08097201571).

Book online now at www.TimeOakhotels.com, www.TimeOakhotelroyal.com or WhatsApp 08036913264.

Timeoak – memorable pleasure lifestyle!

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NBA ELECTION 2022 TO GULP N35 MILLION

The Nigerian Bar Association National Executive Council (NBA-NEC) has approved about N34.878 million for the conduct of this year’s National Officers Election.

This is a fallout of a painstaking review of the proposed interim budget submitted by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) led by respected senior lawyer, Mr. Richard Akintunde SAN.

The NBA-NEC had deferred the budget review from its quarterly meeting held on February 23, 2022 to yesterday’s Emergency Meeting to enable a thorough review of the proposed budget by members.

CITY LAWYER gathered that a constitutional crisis may have been averted by the passage of the budget, as today was the last day for the electoral umpire to issue the Preliminary Notice of Election in accordance with the amended constitution.

A source who is familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that N4 million was shaved off the proposed budget as the electoral committee had secured a temporary office for N1 million at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry as against the earlier N5 million proposed for that purpose. The source also said that the NBA leadership is rehabilitating its old secretariat where the ECNBA will use as its permanent operational base.

While N4,044,000 was approved as office and administrative expenses, N2,760,000 was approved for ECNBA’s voter education/sensitization outreach. CITY LAWYER gathered that this will be held in clusters in the three zones, with branches invited to the clusters nearest to them for the exercise.

N17,978,000 and $15,000 were approved for the all-important “Technical/ICT” component of the assignment, while N3,871,300 was approved for office equipment such as laptops, photocopying machines, printers and projectors.

CITY LAWYER gathered from an unimpeachable source that the current framework is a departure from the last election when the electoral umpire did not have control of its budget and expenditure.

Asked about the total cost of the previous exercise, a key member of that committee said: “That is something I cannot confirm. The NBA paid directly for everything that was done during the elections. ECNBA members did not sign any cheques but only received individually what they required to carry out their duties and their approved allowances.

“Service providers were all paid by the NBA. As such, it is the NBA that can answer questions as to expenditure for the elections, not the ECNBA. The sums we received individually are on record, so it is only for those we can individually account.”

While a source told CITY LAWYER that NBA will continue to pay vendors as ECNBA does not have legal personality,  analysts believe that the arm’s length relationship between the ECNBA and the NBA leadership will foster greater independence for the electoral umpire and promote free and fair election come July 2022.

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Copyright 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083. All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

AGC: ‘WHY WE CAN’T RELEASE RATES NOW’

  • Prof. Ajayi is not a paid consultant

There are strong indications that the inability of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) to agree on the rate for international delegates at its last meeting in Lagos is delaying official release of the fees for the 2019 Annual General Conference (AGC).

An impeccable source within the TCCP told CITY LAWYER at the weekend that the need to attract more international delegates to the conference has necessitated more brainstorming on the matter.

“We want to attract more African delegates to the conference,” he said. “Some stakeholders are of the view that the proposed $500 rate is rather high and may discourage international participants. So, we are still consulting on the appropriate rate. That is why we cannot release the AGC rates now.”

Given that $300 is now the advertised rate for international delegates, it was unclear at press time whether the debacle over the fee for this category of participants has now been resolved.

According to the ranking TCCP member, other rates have however been agreed upon by the committee. “The committee resolved to address the fears of lawyers,” he said. “This led to very lively brainstorming among committee members and made the meeting to be long drawn.” NBA President, Mr. Paul Usoro SAN had while inaugurating the committee assured delegates of a “pocket-friendly” conference.

CITY LAWYER had reported that there was anxiety among the legal community on a possible hike in AGC fees as the committee met last Thursday.

The TCCP member however told CITY LAWYER that the committee would retain the 2018 rates, even as 25% discount has been extended to 1-10 years post-call lawyers on early bird rates to allay fears of a prohibitive AGC fees regime. The advertised rates on the 2019 AGC website are as follows:
1-5 years – ₦20,000.00
6-10 Years – ₦30,000.00
11-15 Years – ₦40,000.00
16-20 Years – ₦60,000.00
Above 20 Years – ₦100,000.00
Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Honourable Attorneys General, Benchers – ₦200,000.00
Magistrates – ₦50,000.00
Honorable Justices, Honorable Judges, Grand Khadis, Khadis – ₦75,000.00
Senior Citizens (Lawyers age 75 years and above) – ₦50,000.00
Non-Lawyers – ₦100,000.00
International Delegates – $300.00

When discounted for the early bird window, lawyers of 1-5 years post-call will pay N15,000 while those with 6-10 years post-call will pay N22,500.

Asked whether the rates are commensurate with the AGC package, the committee member answered in the affirmative. He said that apart from the huge overhead cost in delivering a world-class conference, each delegate would be given a “convertible, all-purpose” conference bag containing flash drive, charger, calendar “and other freebies.” CITY LAWYER also gathered that the committee is negotiating with some manufacturers and outlets to avail delegates with shopping vouchers with which to purchase items at discounted rates. “We want the delegates to have a feel of this year’s conference,” he emphasized. “But I can tell you that tablets are gone for good.”

“This is the first TCCP that has two chairmen,” he added. “This is informed by the need to deliver a world-class conference and ensure that members do not have any complaints whatsoever.” It is recalled that former NBA Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) Chairman, Mr. Olumide Apata was recently co-opted into the committee. He was not in the original 42-member committee inaugurated by Usoro on January 18, 2019. The NBA-SBL has carved a reputation for organizing seamless conferences.

The TCCP member said that registration for the AGC would commence this month, even as he assured that the draft budget is ready and would be presented to the next NBA National Executive Committee (NBA-NEC) meeting in June for approval. This is notwithstanding the “anticipatory approval” given to the committee at the last NBA-NEC in March.

On the controversy surrounding the appointment of Eventful Nigeria Limited as the “event planner” for the conference, the committee member argued that no member raised eye brows when the matter was discussed by the committee, adding: “Even when we asked the lady (Eventful) to leave the meeting briefly, nobody raised any issue. If any member had issues with the appointment or had special skills that would have made such appointment unnecessary, he or she should have said so when the matter was debated. That would have even led to more cost efficiency. However, we are lawyers; we are not event planning experts.”

Also speaking on the concerns being raised on the appointment of former TCCP Chairman, Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi SAN as a “consultant” to the committee, the member said the controversy was unnecessary. “The fact is that no TCCP member is being paid,” he said. “In fact, we use our own money to fund the activities of the committee, paying for our flight tickets and lodging among others. This is not in the public domain.

“Prof. Ajayi is not a paid consultant. It was decided that due to his privileged status as a former TCCP Chairman, he should be given a special title as ‘consultant.’ That is all. How much can you pay such a person?”

It is recalled that Usoro had while inaugurating the committee said: “The composition of this year’s AGC TCCP comes with some innovations and exciting bonuses. First is the selflessness of all the Committee members. I spoke with each of the 42 members and they all committed to serve on the Committee at minimal, if any, cost to the National NBA purse as it relates in particular to their transport and accommodation for Committee meetings. That is exemplary, and I cannot thank them enough for this commitment and sacrifice.”

This year’s conference, the 59th edition, is scheduled to hold between 23rd and 29th August, 2019 at Eko Hotel & Suites as well as Harbour Point, Ikoyi. The theme is “Facing the Future.” A provisional AGC programme has been uploaded on the conference website. However, the accommodation details are still reflecting the schedule for the 2018 conference held at Abuja.

Copyright 2018 CITY LAWYER. All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

UPDATED: AGC to Gulp N750 Million

The 2018 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) will cost the association a whopping N750 Million, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report. Continue Reading