Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN has warned that aspirants in the 2024 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections will be disqualified if they induce voters and branches.

Maikyau spoke yesterday at Eko Hotel, Lagos after he was sworn-in by the immediate past NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata as the 31st President of NBA. He took over the mantle of leadership from Akpata at exactly 2:11 pm after Akpata decorated him with a novel medallion as an insignia of office.

The event was witnessed by Bar Leaders, lawyers and dignitaries including Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa. Also present was former NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN.

The event was not without its undercurrents, against the backdrop of the face-off with the immediate past NBA General Secretary, Mrs. Joyce Oduah.

In his Inaugural Address, Maikyau vowed to reform NBA’s electoral process, warning that aspirants in the 2024 NBA Elections would be “disqualified” if they induce branches or branch chairmen, while such branches and individuals would also be sanctioned. He stated that this is geared towards minimizing the cost of NBA elections.

The sub-themes in Maikyau’s inaugural address included The task ahead and my call to members of the legal profession; State of the nation; The 2023 General Elections, Welfare of lawyers; lawyers’ remuneration; Law officers, legal aid officers and lawyers in public service; In-house counsel and lawyers in business, and NBA Employment Bureau.

Others are NBA law firm/institutional mentorship partnership, Professional conduct and discipline, Independence of the judiciary, Institutional and governance structure, Legal education reform, NBA sections and fora, Rule of law and the administration of justice, and Electoral reforms.

A statement made available to CITY LAWYER by the NBA Publicity Secretary, Mr. Habeeb Lawal said: “Mr. President, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN immediately set the tone for what promises to be a time of dynamic service and bold leadership, in his vibrant inaugural speech. The full breadth of his speech may be relived in the copy annexed herewith.

“The NBA President also seized the occasion to set in motion some of the administration’s immediate objectives, including announcing the constitution of an Electoral Reform Committee to be chaired by Mr. E. Y. Kura SAN. A key mandate of this committee is the reduction/minimisation of the costs incurred by candidates during NBA national elections.

“Mr. President also announced the constitution of an Enquiry Committee to be chaired by Mr. Wale Fapohunda SAN, whose mandate is to investigate the unfortunate events that transpired on Tuesday, the 23rd of August, 2022 where some delinquent members proceeded to destroy properties and assault staff of the NBA, while members were waiting to collect conference materials.”

Click here for the full text of the Inaugural Address.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

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.