The Pioneer Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN has appealed to the Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the NBA, especially the Chairman, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN to intervene in the lingering leadership crisis between the NBA President and the Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL.

According to Gadzama who spoke with some journalists, “the Elders of the NBA need to step in as a matter of urgency before the profession is disgracefully dragged through the mud and the little respect the profession still commands is eviscerated.”

The learned silk who had earlier encouraged the NBA President and the leadership of the NBA-SPIDEL to sheath their swords and seek amicable and mature ways of settling their difference, decried the action of the NBA-NEC in dissolving the leadership of the NBA-SPIDEL, “even in the face of a pending lawsuit instituted by some members of NBA-SPIDEL on the issue at hand which the NBA claimed it was not served, but the General Secretary of the NBA admitted to the contrary, that NBA was served.

“This action of the NBA-NEC is antithetical and repugnant to the Association’s motto, which is, ‘Promoting the Rule of Law.’ Furthermore, it would undermine the fair-mindedness of the NBA-NEC which may now be seen as a rubber-stamp Council, acting to satisfy the yearnings of the NBA President. Recall that the NBA President is empowered under the NBA Constitution to appoint more than 100 members of the NBA-NEC. And with the benefit of hindsight, no past President and only a handful of SANs attended the Jos NEC meeting, thereby depriving the meeting additional wise counsel.

“The court action between the duo can be likened to a member of a family unit suing the head. And in this case, we must all note that SPIDEL is the connecting rod between the NBA and the Public and the activities of an organized and functional SPIDEL are essential for the eventual performance of the constitutional and statutory mandate of the NBA.”

Gadzama believes that the Elders of the NBA can still intervene to settle the debacle notwithstanding that the issue is subjudice. His interest is to see the two sides settle their disputes and he is convinced that, through the intervention of the BOT which has the mandate to come to the rescue of the Association whenever it is a a crossroads such as this one, the warring sides can come to a progressive understanding.

His words: “The courts are always available to decide who is wrong and who is right, but that legal voyage can be avoided if the NBA President and the leadership of the NBA-SPIDEL submit themselves to the BOT members for an amicable resolution of the dispute, which would better serve the profession, so that both the NBA and the newly formed Nigerian Law Society (NLS) can join hands as co-promoters of the rule of law, cause of justice, good governance, democracy, and co-fighters of impunity, injustice, corruption, etc.”

He noted that the warring parties should be focused more on unifying the members of the Association, working for their welfare, and not engaging in brawls that are of no benefit to the Association or legal profession at large.

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