NBA OWERRI CRISIS: THE GENERAL SECRETARY IS NOT ABOVE THE VICE-PRESIDENTS — LET US RESPECT THE NBA CONSTITUTION AND ALLOW ELECTED OFFICERS TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES.

A Constitutional Appraisal of the Three-Member Presidential Committee Investigating the Alleged Mismanagement of the ₦100 Million Imo State Government Gift to NBA Owerri Branch

I have carefully examined the recent intervention of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, in the crisis rocking the NBA Owerri Branch, particularly her decision to constitute a three-member committee comprising the General Secretary, Mr. Afam Okeke; the Third Vice-President, Mrs. Iniobong Irene Pepple; and the Treasurer, Mrs. Esther Jimoh.

Let me begin by commending the President for recognising the need to investigate the allegations surrounding the receipt, management and disbursement of the ₦100 million reportedly given to the Owerri Branch by the Imo State Government.

Transparency, accountability and financial discipline are indispensable to the credibility of the Nigerian Bar Association. No Branch Chairman, irrespective of status, should be permitted to treat the collective resources of lawyers as personal property.

However, in our determination to enforce accountability, we must not inadvertently undermine the very Constitution upon which the legitimacy of the NBA leadership rests.

The President’s intervention raises a fundamental constitutional question that deserves careful consideration beyond the immediate Owerri crisis.

IS THE GENERAL SECRETARY CONSTITUTIONALLY SUPERIOR TO THE VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE NBA, AND WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO COORDINATE AND SUPERVISE BRANCH ACTIVITIES?

1. THE CONSTITUTIONAL RANKING OF NBA NATIONAL OFFICERS

Section 9(2) of the NBA Constitution 2015, as amended in 2025, lists the elected national officers beginning with the President, followed by the First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Third Vice-President and thereafter the General Secretary and other national officers.

This order is reinforced by Section 9(5), which gives the Vice-Presidents successive responsibilities to preside at meetings in the absence of officers preceding them.

The constitutional order is therefore unmistakable: the General Secretary does not take precedence over any of the three Vice-Presidents for purposes of constitutional succession in presiding over Association meetings.

This does not mean that every committee must invariably be chaired by a Vice-President. It means that the constitutional standing and assigned responsibilities of an elected Vice-President cannot be diminished merely through administrative arrangements.

Accordingly, where a matter falls principally within the assigned responsibilities of a Vice-President, compelling constitutional and administrative reasons ought to exist before another officer is preferred to coordinate that assignment.

2. BRANCH COORDINATION IS AN EXPRESS CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE VICE-PRESIDENTS

Sections 9(5)(b)(ii), 9(5)(c)(ii) and 9(5)(d)(ii) expressly confer on the First, Second and Third Vice-Presidents respectively responsibility for coordinating the activities of groups of branches assigned to them by the President, National Executive Council or National Executive Committee.

They are also required to undertake periodic visits and report to the appropriate national organs.

Furthermore, the Constitution empowers them to encourage and supervise the formation of new branches within their respective supervisory jurisdictions.

These provisions were not inserted into the Constitution merely for decoration.

They were designed to establish a decentralised system of Bar administration through which elected Vice-Presidents maintain direct relationships with branches, identify emerging problems, encourage compliance and report developments to the Association’s leadership.

What then becomes of these duties if every serious branch disagreement is routinely transferred to the General Secretary for coordination?

Why should the Association elect three Vice-Presidents and subsequently allow their constitutionally assigned responsibilities to become ceremonial?

An office whose constitutional responsibilities are persistently transferred elsewhere is gradually being emptied of its institutional relevance.

That is a development we must resist.

3. THE GENERAL SECRETARY’S FUNCTIONS MUST NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THOSE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENTS

Section 9(5)(e) sets out the functions of the General Secretary.

Those functions include convening meetings as constitutionally authorised, recording minutes, conducting official correspondence, maintaining membership and branch records, preparing reports and overseeing the administration of the Secretariat.

The Constitution also permits the General Secretary to undertake additional duties assigned by the appropriate authorities and to participate in committees, subject to the stated constitutional exceptions.

Consequently, there is nothing inherently unconstitutional about the General Secretary serving on an investigative committee involving a branch. However, membership of a committee is fundamentally different from assuming the supervisory responsibility constitutionally assigned to a Vice-President.

The General Secretary may provide administrative coordination, documentation, correspondence and institutional support.

But the constitutional responsibility of supervising and coordinating assigned branches remains expressly vested in the relevant Vice-President, subject to the President’s overall coordinating authority.

We must distinguish administrative support from constitutional supervisory responsibility.

The General Secretary is a very important officer of the Association, but that importance does not authorise the office to displace other elected officers from their constitutional duties.

4. THE OWERRI COMMITTEE: WHY THE ORDER AND LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE MATTER

In the presidential communication under consideration, the General Secretary is listed first, followed by the Third Vice-President and the Treasurer.

Although the published communication does not expressly name a committee chairman, this arrangement creates an avoidable question about the intended leadership of the assignment.

If the General Secretary is intended to lead the committee in preference to the Third Vice-President, what constitutional or institutional consideration justifies that decision?

If Owerri Branch falls within the supervisory assignment of the Third Vice-President, why would she not ordinarily coordinate the intervention, supported by the General Secretary and Treasurer?

If Owerri is assigned to another Vice-President, why has that officer not been given the appropriate coordinating responsibility?

These are legitimate questions, not attacks on the competence or character of the General Secretary.

I have no personal objection to Mr. Afam Okeke serving on the committee. Neither do I question his capacity to discharge responsibilities lawfully assigned to him.

My concern is institutional.

The NBA cannot continue to strengthen one elected office by weakening another.

Where a Vice-President is constitutionally responsible for a group of branches, that office should remain central to interventions affecting those branches.

I therefore urge the President to clarify the chairmanship of this committee and ensure that its operational arrangements reflect the constitutional responsibilities of the Vice-Presidents.

5. THE PRESIDENT HAS POWERS, BUT THOSE POWERS MUST OPERATE WITHIN THE CONSTITUTION

For the avoidance of doubt, Section 9(5)(a)(iii) and (iv) empowers the NBA President to direct other national officers in the performance of their duties, coordinate branch activities and provide leadership to committees of the Association. I recognise these powers.

However, presidential coordination is not the same as unrestricted authority to disregard the constitutional functions of other elected officers. The Constitution must be read as a whole.

The powers of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the General Secretary and the National Executive Council are intended to complement one another, not compete through administrative preferences.

There is an additional matter of considerable importance.

Section 8(6)(g) and (h) of the amended Constitution gives the National Executive Council express authority concerning disputes arising from branch administration, including the power to investigate or appoint competent persons to investigate the affairs of branches and report to NEC or a General Meeting as constitutionally directed.

This raises another question.

Is the Owerri committee merely a preliminary presidential fact-finding intervention, or is it intended to operate as the substantive investigative mechanism contemplated under Section 8(6)(h)?

If the latter, the role of the National Executive Council in authorising, supervising or receiving the investigation requires proper constitutional consideration.

The committee has been directed to report to the President by 30 October 2026. While presidential receipt of a preliminary report may be administratively convenient, it should not replace the constitutional accountability of the relevant national organs.

The President should therefore ensure appropriate NEC involvement and reporting.

An investigation into alleged financial impropriety must not itself become vulnerable to allegations of constitutional impropriety.

6. THE OWERRI BRANCH MEMBERS MUST NOT BE DENIED THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

The reported requisition by 183 members for an Extraordinary General Meeting demonstrates serious dissatisfaction demanding a lawful institutional response.

Reports indicate that the Extraordinary General Meeting eventually held on 15 October 2026, and that members resolved to appoint a fresh five-member branch investigative committee, independent of the presidential committee.

The branch committee is reportedly expected to present its findings at a General Meeting scheduled for 31 October 2026.

These developments further demonstrate why the autonomy of branches and their internal democratic procedures must be respected.

The legitimate decisions of a duly constituted Branch General Meeting should not be casually displaced by unilateral executive directives.

At the same time, the national leadership has a responsibility to ensure that the branch operates within the Constitution and Uniform Bye-Laws.

Both responsibilities must coexist.

The allegations concerning the ₦100 million deserve thorough examination, including the circumstances of receipt, the approvals for expenditure, the beneficiaries of disbursements, the banking transactions and all relevant supporting documents.

I would further recommend the involvement of an independent accounting professional where necessary to ensure that any financial findings are supported by reliable evidence.

Importantly, the Chairman and every other person whose conduct is questioned must be afforded fair hearing.

Allegations are not convictions, and accountability cannot be achieved through procedural injustice.

7. WE MUST STOP REDUCING THE OFFICE OF THE NBA VICE-PRESIDENT TO A CEREMONIAL POSITION

One of the recurring weaknesses of our Association is the tendency of successive administrations to concentrate operational authority around the President and the National Secretariat.

This practice risks weakening the institutional purpose for which other national offices were created.

Why elect a First Vice-President, Second Vice-President and Third Vice-President if they are not given meaningful responsibility to manage their assigned areas?

Why should the General Secretary become the automatic coordinating officer whenever a branch faces an administrative crisis?

Why should elected Vice-Presidents wait for occasional ceremonial assignments when the Constitution already provides meaningful responsibilities for them?

The strength of any democratic institution lies not in the number of offices it creates, but in the willingness of its leadership to respect the powers assigned to those offices.

We must stop treating elected Vice-Presidents as mere substitutes who become relevant only when the President is absent.

They are constitutional officers with important responsibilities, and their offices deserve operational recognition.

8. MY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE NBA PRESIDENT

I respectfully urge President Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, to take the following steps:

1. Clarify the leadership of the Owerri investigative committee, particularly whether the General Secretary or the Third Vice-President is expected to chair it.
2. Give primacy to the Vice-President constitutionally assigned to coordinate Owerri Branch, ensuring that the officer plays the appropriate supervisory role in the intervention.
3. Preserve the General Secretary’s legitimate administrative responsibilities, without allowing such responsibilities to displace the constitutional duties of the Vice-Presidents.
4. Ensure that the National Executive Council exercises its proper constitutional oversight regarding branch disputes and investigations under Section 8(6)(g) and (h).
5. Respect the autonomy and lawful decisions of the Owerri Branch General Meeting, without undermining the proper supervisory responsibilities of the national organs.
6. Promote transparency and fair hearing by ensuring that the allegations involving the ₦100 million are investigated thoroughly and without prejudgment.
7. Publish or formally communicate the supervisory allocation of NBA branches among the three Vice-Presidents, so that members know the national officer responsible for coordination in their respective branches.

CONCLUSION: THE NBA CONSTITUTION IS NOT A DOCUMENT OF CONVENIENCE

I wish to respectfully remind the President and other national officers that the NBA Constitution is not a document to be obeyed when convenient and ignored when politically or administratively expedient.

It is the foundation of our legitimacy.

A President who insists that Branch Chairmen must obey the Constitution must equally demonstrate unwavering respect for the constitutional responsibilities of fellow national officers.

The General Secretary must be allowed to perform the functions of the General Secretary.

The Treasurer must be allowed to perform the functions of the Treasurer.

Most importantly, the three Vice-Presidents must be allowed to perform the constitutional responsibilities assigned to their offices without being unnecessarily displaced, marginalised or subordinated.

I have always maintained that the Nigerian Bar Association cannot effectively demand obedience to constitutional governance from political leaders while disregarding constitutional discipline within its own administration.

If lawyers cannot protect the constitutional allocation of powers within their professional Association, with what moral authority shall we condemn similar violations in the governance of Nigeria?

I therefore call on the President to undertake a careful reappraisal of the Owerri committee’s composition, leadership, constitutional authority and reporting structure.

This is not a call to abandon the investigation. It is a call to conduct it with complete respect for constitutional governance.

LET THE VICE-PRESIDENTS WORK. LET THE GENERAL SECRETARY PERFORM HIS CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES. LET NEC EXERCISE ITS POWERS. LET THE PRESIDENT LEAD WITHIN THE CONSTITUTION.

Above all, let no elected officer become a constitutional figurehead merely because another office enjoys greater administrative access to the Presidency.

The Nigerian Bar Association must not become an institution where personalities are stronger than the Constitution.

The Constitution must remain supreme over every officer, including the President.

A stronger and Bolder Bar is not built by concentrating authority in one office, but by respecting the responsibilities of every constitutionally elected officer.

Clement Ugo Chukwuemeka was a former Second Vice-President, Nigerian Bar Association and
Convener, NBA 2030 Democratic Movement

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