OGUNLANA

NBA ELECTION: OGUNLANA VOWS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH MAIN SUIT

BY EMEKA NWADIOKE

Former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana has vowed to go ahead with a lawsuit to determine his eligibility for the forthcoming NBA National Election, saying today’s ruling by a Lagos High Court sitting at Ikeja did not tamper with his right to institute the substantive action.

Though Ogunlana’s telephone numbers were switched off when CITY LAWYER attempted to contact him, his close aide and RAMINBA Secretary, Mr. Ayo Ademiluyi, said there is “serious misconception” regarding the court ruling, adding that “our main claim is very much alive.”

He said that the movement will proceed to conclude the Pre Action protocols within the next seven days before filing the substantive suit “to determine whether Mr. Ogunlana was validly excluded from the race and whether any NBA Chairman can on his own issue a Letter of Good Standing or refuse same as he wills.”

It is recalled that the court had dismissed Ogunlana’s application asking it to set aside his disqualification by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) or restrain the defendants from conducting the NBA Elections without his inclusion in the race. The electoral body had disqualified the former branch chieftain on the ground that his nomination forms did not include a “Letter of Good Standing” from his branch chairman.

But the Nigerian Bar Association asked the court to dismiss the suit. Represented by high-profile lawyer, Dr. Paul Ananaba SAN, the NBA brought a Notice of Preliminary Objection pursuant to Order 43 (Rule 1) of the Civil Procedure Rules 2019 of the High Court of Lagos State and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court. The motion was served on the Lead Counsel for Ogunlana, Mr. Dare Akande at exactly 6:12 pm yesterday. The matter is slated for hearing today before Justice Adedayo Oyebanji.

The Respondents are Incorporated Trustees of Nigeria Bar Association; Mr. Paul Usoro SAN (President of the Nigerian Bar Association); Mr. Jonathan Taidi (General Secretary, Nigeria Bar Association); and Professor (sic) Tawo Tawo SAN, Chairman, Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. Others are ECNBA Secretary, Cordelia Eke, Esq. and Dele Oloke, Esq (immediate past chairman of Ikeja Branch of Nigerian Bar Association).

Marked as Suit No. ID/4015GCM/2020, Ogunlana is praying for “An interlocutory order of this honourable court directing and compelling the Defendants, to include the name of the Claimant/Applicant in the list of candidates to contest for the Office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the 2020 National Officers’ Elections and allowing same to contest pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in this matter.”

In the alternative, the disqualified NBA presidential aspirant is seeking “AN ORDER of injunction restraining the Defendants from conducting elections into the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, without including the name of the Claimant as a candidate on the 29th and 30th July, 2020 or on any other date pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in the matter.”

Filed on July 9, 2020 Ogunlana revealed in a broadcast on his verified Facebook handle that the matter has been assigned to Justice Adedayo Oyebanji of Ikeja High Court, adding that the court has penciled down the case for hearing “due to its urgent nature.” He reassured his supporters to “keep hope alive,” adding that though the election has been scheduled for 29th and 30th July, 2020, “nothing is sacrosanct.”

Ogunlana listed four grounds to justify his lawsuit, stating that
(i) The 4th and 5th Defendants/respondents’ electoral body, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) claimed to have disqualified the claimant contesting the election because his Nomination Forms did not include a letter of Good Standing from the 6th defendant, the then Chairman of his branch, the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association as required by the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association.

(ii) The claimant brought an Appeal based on the objection raised by the 4th and 5th Defendants as stated earlier above in paragraph 1 but his appeal was dismissed based on a completely different issue, and which is applicable to the appeal or case of the claimant.

(iii) The ground of dismissing the Appeal founded in section 8(3)(c) of the NBA Constitution 2015(as amended) vis-a-vis the issue raised and the absence of any evidence to show that the report of the insurance committee if Ikeja Branch of NBA has been set aside “is disjointed from the ground of Appeal itself, which is based on the Appeal against disqualification for absence of letter of Good Standing in the Nomination packet of the Claimant/Applicant.

(iv) The Claimant /Applicant will suffer irreparable loss if this honourable court declines the order sought.”

It is recalled that Ogunlana has had a cat-and-mouse relationship with the electoral body following his initial disqualification from the presidential race. Though he appealed the disqualification, claiming that Oloke lacked the power to withhold his “Letter of Good Standing,” the ECNBA dismissed his appeal as lacking in merit.

FIREWORKS, AS NBA ASKS COURT TO DISMISS OGUNLANA’S SUIT

BY EMEKA NWADIOKE

• WARNS THAT GRANT OF ORDER WILL ‘CAUSE ANARCHY’
• SAYS COURT LACKS JURISDICTION TO HEAR MATTER
• ‘THIS APPLICATION WILL TRUNCATE NBA ELECTION IF…’
• ‘WE HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG’

The Nigerian Bar Association has asked the Lagos High Court to dismiss the suit brought by controversial former NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana seeking to restore his as a candidate for the forthcoming NBA Elections.

Court papers sighted by CITY LAWYER show that the NBA is being represented by high-profile lawyer, Dr. Paul Ananaba SAN, even as it is in the alternative praying the court to strike out the application.

The Notice of Preliminary Objection is brought pursuant to Order 43 (Rule 1) of the Civil Procedure Rules 2019 of the High Court of Lagos State and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court. The motion was served on the Lead Counsel for Ogunlana, Mr. Dare Akande at exactly 6:12 pm yesterday. The matter is slated for hearing today before Justice Adedayo Oyebanji.

Ogunlana had filed a Motion on Notice dated July 18, 2020 asking the court to set aside his disqualification by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) or restrain the defendants from conducting the NBA Elections without his inclusion in the race. The electoral body had disqualified the former branch chieftain on the ground that his nomination forms did not include a “Letter of Good Standing” from his branch chairman.

The Respondents are Incorporated Trustees of Nigeria Bar Association; Mr. Paul Usoro SAN (President of the Nigerian Bar Association); Mr. Jonathan Taidi (General Secretary, Nigeria Bar Association); and Professor (sic) Tawo Tawo SAN, Chairman, Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. Others are ECNBA Secretary, Cordelia Eke, Esq. and Dele Oloke, Esq (immediate past chairman of Ikeja Branch of Nigerian Bar Association).

But the NBA is through its Trustees praying the court not to grant the order, warning that it would “cause anarchy and division within the Nigerian Bar Association.” Instead, it is praying for “An order dismissing this action for lack of jurisdiction or in the alternative,” “An order striking out this action for lack of jurisdiction.”

Dated 23rd July, 2020 the grounds for the application are that “the applicant has failed to comply with due process of law,” “The Honourable Court lacks jurisdiction to determine this suit,” “This application is aimed at truncating the Nigerian Bar Association Election slated for the 29th and 30th of July, 2020” and “This application amounts to forum shopping which is an abuse of court process.”

The application is supported by a 4-paragraph affidavit deposed by one Gbenga Ayorinde, a litigation officer in the 1st Respondent’s counsel’s chambers.

The deponent averred inter alia “That the Applicant stated clearly in his Affidavit that he did not submit Letter of good standing as provided by the Nigerian Bar Association Electoral Law and Rules,” adding that “The duties of the 1st Respondent is to ensure Electoral laws and Rules are complied with.

He stated that “the first Respondent has done nothing wrong” and “That the Applicant has not instituted any substantive suit in this matter.” The deponent also stated that aside from the application amounting to forum shopping, “granting this (application) will cause anarchy and division within the Nigerian Bar Association.” According to him, “the court does not have jurisdiction to interfere in internal affairs of Nigerian Bar Association.”

It is recalled that Ogunlana had dragged the NBA and its electoral committee to the High Court of Lagos State sitting at Ikeja, praying for several orders.

Marked as Suit No. ID/4015GCM/2020, Ogunlana is praying for “An interlocutory order of this honourable court directing and compelling the Defendants, to include the name of the Claimant/Applicant in the list of candidates to contest for the Office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the 2020 National Officers’ Elections and allowing same to contest pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in this matter.”

In the alternative, the disqualified NBA presidential aspirant is seeking “AN ORDER of injunction restraining the Defendants from conducting elections into the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, without including the name of the Claimant as a candidate on the 29th and 30th July, 2020 or on any other date pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in the matter.”

Copyright 2020 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 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.

OGUNLANA SUES, ASKS COURT TO STOP NBA ELECTION IF…

BY EMEKA NWADIOKE

• FATE OF ELECTION HANGS IN BALANCE

• COURT SET TO HEAR SUIT FRIDAY

The fate of the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association National Officers Elections is now hanging in the balance as a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja will on Friday hear a lawsuit brought by controversial former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana against his disqualification from the presidential race.

In court documents seen by CITY LAWYER, Ogunlana is asking the court to set aside his disqualification by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) or restrain the defendants from conducting the NBA Elections without his inclusion in the race. The electoral body had disqualified the former branch chieftain on the ground that his nomination forms did not include a “Letter of Good Standing” from his branch chairman.

The Respondents are Incorporated Trustees of Nigeria Bar Association; Mr. Paul Usoro SAN (President of the Nigerian Bar Association); Mr. Jonathan Taidi (General Secretary, Nigeria Bar Association); and Professor (sic) Tawo Tawo SAN, Chairman, Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. Others are ECNBA Secretary, Cordelia Eke, Esq. and Dele Oloke, Esq (immediate past chairman of Ikeja Branch of Nigerian Bar Association).

Marked as Suit No. ID/4015GCM/2020, Ogunlana is praying for “An interlocutory order of this honourable court directing and compelling the Defendants, to include the name of the Claimant/Applicant in the list of candidates to contest for the Office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the 2020 National Officers’ Elections and allowing same to contest pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in this matter.”

In the alternative, the disqualified NBA presidential aspirant is seeking “AN ORDER of injunction restraining the Defendants from conducting elections into the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, without including the name of the Claimant as a candidate on the 29th and 30th July, 2020 or on any other date pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in the matter.”

Filed on July 9, 2020 Ogunlana revealed in a broadcast on his verified Facebook handle that the matter has been assigned to Justice Adedayo Oyebanji of Ikeja High Court, adding that the court has penciled down the case for hearing “due to its urgent nature.” He reassured his supporters to “keep hope alive,” adding that though the election has been scheduled for 29th and 30th July, 2020, “nothing is sacrosanct.”

Ogunlana listed four grounds to justify his lawsuit, stating that
(i) The 4th and 5th Defendants/respondents’ electoral body, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) claimed to have disqualified the claimant contesting the election because his Nomination Forms did not include a letter of Good Standing from the 6th defendant, the then Chairman of his branch, the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association as required by the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association.

(ii) The claimant brought an Appeal based on the objection raised by the 4th and 5th Defendants as stated earlier above in paragraph 1 but his appeal was dismissed based on a completely different issue, and which is applicable to the appeal or case of the claimant.

(iii) The ground of dismissing the Appeal founded in section 8(3)(c) of the NBA Constitution 2015(as amended) vis-a-vis the issue raised and the absence of any evidence to show that the report of the insurance committee if Ikeja Branch of NBA has been set aside “is disjointed from the ground of Appeal itself, which is based on the Appeal against disqualification for absence of letter of Good Standing in the Nomination packet of the Claimant/Applicant.

(iv) The Claimant /Applicant will suffer irreparable loss if this honourable court declines the order sought.”

It is recalled that Ogunlana has had a cat-and-mouse relationship with the electoral body following his initial disqualification from the presidential race. Though he appealed the disqualification, claiming that Oloke lacked the power to withhold his “Letter of Good Standing,” the ECNBA dismissed his appeal as lacking in merit.

Copyright 2020 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 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.

NBA ELECTORAL COMMITTEE FINALLY DISQUALIFIES OGUNLANA

I WILL HEAD TO COURT, SAYS FORMER IKEJA BRANCH CHAIR

Controversial NBA presidential aspirant, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana finally been  disqualified from contesting the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

Confirming the incident to CITY LAWYER, a close aide of Ogunlana, Mr. Ayo Ademiluyi however said the former NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman will “definitely” head to court to challenge his disqualification. He said Ogunlana will soon issue a statement on his disqualification.

He said that the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) hinged its decision on lack of a Letter of Good Standing from the branch chairman as well as the report of the committee allegedly indicting Ogunlana on the branch insurance funds. Ogunlana has argued that the committee report was not an indictment but merely asked him to account for about N12 million of the branch insurance fund.

Other aspirants whose appeals were also unsuccessful include incumbent NBA Second Assistant Secretary Chinyere Obasi, Messrs S. O. K. Shillings and Promise Wobo Iwezor.

Confirming her disqualification in an online post to her supporters, Obasi said: “Good morning my people. I regret to inform you all that the appeal was refused. ECNBA still stood on sec 8(3) of the NBA constitution 2015 i.e. not being a NEC member for two years before the close of nomination. I thank you all for your support and prayers thus far.”

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  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jun 29, 2020
  • 1.5k
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  • Comments Off on ECNBA DISQUALIFIES OBASI, SHILLINGS AGAIN, KEEPS MUM ON OGUNLANA, OTHERS

ECNBA DISQUALIFIES OBASI, SHILLINGS AGAIN, KEEPS MUM ON OGUNLANA, OTHERS

• ELECTORAL COMMITTEE SCRIBE LOSES FATHER

The Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) may have concluded hearing of appeals from aspirants disqualified in the forthcoming NBA Elections.

There are strong indications that at least three of the appeals were unsuccessful, as the electoral committee sustained its decisions to disqualify the aspirants, including incumbent NBA Second Assistant Secretary, Miss Chinyere Obasi who was gunning for the post of Welfare Secretary, and Promise Wobo Iwezor, an aspirant for the post of Third Vice President.

Also disqualified is NBA Ikorodu Branch chieftain, Mr. S. O. K. Shillings who confirmed his disqualification to CITY LAWYER in a telephone interview. He was vying for the post of First Vice President.

CITY LAWYER gathered from impeccable sources that some of the disqualification letters dated June 25, 2020 were dispatched late last night by the electoral committee.

Several of the aspirants are yet to know their fate, including controversial NBA presidential aspirant, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana. The former NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman told CITY LAWYER that he “is hopeful” of a favourable response from the electoral committee. Incumbent NBA Assistant Publicity Secretary, Mr. Habeeb Lawal also told CITY LAWYER that he had not heard from the electoral committee at press time.

Confirming her disqualification in an online post to her supporters, Obasi said: “Good morning my people. I regret to inform you all that the appeal was refused. ECNBA still stood on sec 8(3) of the NBA constitution 2015 i.e. not being a NEC member for two years before the close of nomination. I thank you all for your support and prayers thus far.”

Meanwhile, tragedy has hit the electoral committee as CITY LAWYER gathered that its Secretary, Mrs. Cordelia Eke has lost her father. The deceased was buried during the weekend. Mrs. Eke has since resumed duty again at the ECNBA.

Another big casualty from the earlier exercise is former NBA Ikorodu Branch Chairman, Mr. Adedotun Habeeb Adetunji who was also vying for the First Vice President. He also told CITY LAWYER he had not received any feedback from the electoral committee as at press time. The fate of Gerald Abonyi, another aspirant for the post of Third Vice President, also remained unclear at press time.

The NBA Elections is now rescheduled to hold on July 29 and 30, 2020.

Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Copyright 2020 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.

  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jun 27, 2020
  • 1.28k
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  • Comments Off on SANship: AKPATA, OGUNLANA FAULT AWOMOLO, ADESINA SPEAKS

SANship: AKPATA, OGUNLANA FAULT AWOMOLO, ADESINA SPEAKS

More aspirants have condemned the call by Bar leader, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN that the next president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) should be sourced from the rank of senior advocates.

Awomolo had in a letter to former NBA President, Chief Onomigbo Okpoko SAN stated that “It will be a great failure of leadership for the senior advocates to surrender leadership to the outer bar when there are willing and able senior advocates,” urging him to convene a meeting of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) to deliberate on the matter. Okpoko is yet to respond to the leaked letter.

One of the presidential aspirants, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN had earlier dissociated himself from the call, saying that “The focus should be on the character, capacity and antecedents of persons who aspire to lead our profession and not on their title or rank.”

While Mr. Dele Adesina SAN did not issue any direct response to the controversial letter, he had prior to the publication of the letter and as a part of his law series, written an article which spoke to the issue. Titled “Insights: A Bar For All,” he wrote: “As a firm believer in the objectives of the Nigerian Bar Association and the role it plays to its members and the community, I believe our Association is at a critical point in history where unity of purpose and synergy among lawyers is in desperate need.

“As such it is not a time for members to instigate division either among the senior members of the Bar and juniors or among the Senior Advocates and Non – Senior Advocates. I believe as members of the NBA, the Association is for the benefit of all members irrespective of position or ilk.

“The Leadership of NBA must always ensure strategic collaboration between the NBA, its Sections, Forums and other bodies such as the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Law Officers Association of Nigeria, Law Teachers Association of Nigeria, Association of Lawyers with Disabilities in Nigeria, Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON), Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) and ‘Federación Internacional dé Abogadas’ a.k.a. ‘International Federation of Women Lawyers’, Capital Markets Solicitors, and any other interest groups among us.

“Our Association must continue to be a pillar of support and strength for the specialised bodies and individuals in pursuit of their goals and objectives. We must also resist any and all efforts to cause a division among our ranks, if the NBA must remain relevant, active and successful in its role.”

In a terse response on his verified Twitter handle, another presidential aspirant, Mr. Olumide Akpata said: “I have a lot of respect for the rank of SAN & I encourage those who aspire to it. But this letter by Awomolo SAN is a disservice to all lawyers who want a better Bar.” 

On his part, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, another presidential aspirant who was disqualified by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA), in a broadcast on his verified Facebook handle described the letter as “extremely amusing,” adding however that the Bar leader “is entitled to his opinion.” Ogunlana has petitioned the ECNBA over his disqualification.

Hinting that the kernel of Awomolo’s “lamentations” is a quest to “protect the interest of his class”, he stated that Awomolo’s era “generally have failed this country. They have not added value most of the time – good value. They have failed us; it is a failed generation. They are used to privilege. He has not advanced merit in canvassing (Chief) T. J. O. Okpoko.”

He discredited Awomolo’s assertion that all NBA presidents since its rebirth from the 1992 Port Harcourt debacle have all been senior advocates, noting that Chief Lanke Odogiyan completed the tenure of Chief Bayo Ojo SAN.

He said that Awomolo has “exposed the inner thinking, inner workings and the pains and anguish of people they call Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, that there is a concerted effort to keep the leadership and all the things that connect to that leadership of the NBA in their ranks.”

Saying that this may explain why all the NBA committees at the national level are headed by SANs, Ogunlana added that “There is a clear intention given by the monopolistic hold of the senior advocates on the NBA that they are the repository of wisdom, that they are the repository of intellectual knowledge.”

He distinguished between the association and the profession, adding that the Bar leader has not only shown that he “is not a democrat,” but is advocating gerontocracy and plutocracy. Describing the rank of senior advocate as “fraudulent,” he stated that any move to amend the NBA Constitution to reserve the position of NBA president for only senior advocates “will be resisted.”

He stated that the issue of leadership of the association “should not be whether the aspirant is a senior advocate or not. “It should be, is this person competent? Does he have the know-how? What is the programme and what can he do? That is the issue?” He stated that voters should cast their ballots for either SANs or non-SANs based on their competence.

Describing Awomolo’s letter as “a gross insult to himself,” Ogunlana stated that the Bar leader has “betrayed that he doesn’t understand and accept democracy for what it is.”

Awomolo’s letter read: “Since you (Okpoko) became the president of the reformed NBA in 1998, and to avoid what happened in Port Harcourt in 1992, all successors to the office of the president have been senior advocates of Nigeria.”

“With respect, I believe you need to urgently call a meeting of the past presidents of the NBA and do all within your powers to preserve the integrity, honour and respectability of the office of the president of the NBA,” Awomolo said.

“What I hear is an unannounced but powerful and potent revolutionary move by our junior colleagues who are very much in larger numbers to wrestle the office of the NBA from the rank of SAN.

“That, in my view will be unfortunate for the rank. To the members of the public a ridicule of the rank and office of the president of the NBA.”

Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Copyright 2020 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.

  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jun 19, 2020
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  • Comments Off on OGUNLANA APPEALS DISQUALIFICATION, BLAMES IKEJA CHAIR FOR WOES

OGUNLANA APPEALS DISQUALIFICATION, BLAMES IKEJA CHAIR FOR WOES

BY EMEKA NWADIOKE

Controversial Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential aspirant, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana has made good his resolve to challenge his disqualification by the Electoral Committee of the NBA.

Ogunlana, the Convener of the Radical Agenda Movement in the Nigerian Bar Association (RAMINBA), blamed outgoing NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr. Dele Oloke for his woes, saying that the “failure of the Chairman of the NBA Ikeja Branch to issue me the Letter duly applied for within time and in compliance with constitutional provisions is absolutely reprehensible , grossly oppressive and a brazen and violent breach of the Constitution of the Association and a reckless, malicious abuse of the powers of the Nigerian Bar Association.”

Attached to the appeal are Oloke’s reply to his application for Letter of Good Standing, Ogunlana’s Letter of Reply to Oloke’s refusal letter and his Letter to ECNBA Chairman.

Please see details below:

OGUNLANA ADESINA ADEMOLA ESQ.

Phone- 08034854066 Email- thesquiblawjournal@yahoo.com
185, PALMGROVE, IKORODU ROAD, LAGOS.

17th June, 2020

The Chairman,
Electoral Committee of Nigerian Bar Association,
NBA House,
Plot 1101, Central Business District,
Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory.

THROUGH:
The Secretary,
Electoral Committee of Nigerian Bar Association

Dear Sir,
APPEAL AGAINST DISQUALIFICATION OF OGUNLANA ADESINA ADEMOLA FROM CONTESTING THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION
I received the e-Letter of your Committee dated 12th June, 2020 entitled “Notice of Disqualification from Contesting Election, Re: Office of The President of the Nigerian Bar Association and signed by the Secretary on the 13th day of June, 2020.
I take the liberty to reproduce same here:
“June 12th, 2020

Mr. Adesina Ogunlana,
NBA,
Ikeja Branch

 

NOTICE OF DISQUALIFICATION FROM CONTESTING ELECTION
RE: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NBA

TAKE NOTICE that upon the perusal and screening of your nomination form with the accompanying documents by a Sub-Committee of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) constituted for that purpose, it was discovered that you do not have a letter of good standing from your Branch as required by the ECNBA Election Guidelines with respect to nomination of candidates, made pursuant to the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended).

You have therefore been found not qualified to contest election to the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the 2020 National Officers Election of the Association.

Note further that you have a right of Appeal exercisable within seven (7) days of receipt of this Notice.

Any letter or notice of Appeal should be addressed to the Chairman, ECNBA and sent to the Committee Secretary via email to : ecnba2020@gmail.com , not later than 4.00 PM on the 7th day subsequent to the date or receipt of this mail.

Cordelia U. Eke (Mrs.)
Secretary, ECNBA”

 

Being utterly dissatisfied with the verdict of your Committee, I hereby appeal same, asking for a reversal and qualifying me to participate in the election in issue.

You will kindly recall, Sir, that my bundle of Nomination Forms including documents pertaining to myself as Candidate, Dare Akande as Nominator and Lateef Abdulsalam as Seconder sent over to you numbered 81 pages. I hereby attach all earlier documents forwarded to you, except my Nomination forms , my Nominator’s forms , receipts and letter of good standing and my Seconder’s forms, receipts and letter of good standing, which are as follows:

1.Adesina Ogunlana’s Bar Practising Fees and Branch Dues paid as and when due for 2018, 2019 and 2020.

2. Letter to Chairman, ECNBA by Adesina Ogunlana, Prospective Candidate for Office of NBA President dated 29/5/2020 with the following attachments:
i. E-mail by Adesina Ogunlana to Dele Oloke Esq., Chairman , NBA Ikeja Branch
ii. Whatsapp Messages of Adesina Ogunlana to Dele Oloke Esq., Chairman, NBA Ikeja Branch
iii. Charge Sheet

3. (A)Chairman and Secretary , NBA Ikeja Branch’s letter to Adesina Ogunlana dated 25/5/2020

(B) Letter to Adesina Ogunlana dated 29/5/2020 in reply to Letter of Chairman , NBA Ikeja Branch dated 25/5/2020 with the following attachments:
i. NBA Ikeja Branch Insurance Committee’s Final Reports
ii. Adesina Ogunlana’s Response to NBA Ikeja Branch’s Insurance Committee’s Final Report
iii. Letter of Mr. Adesina Ogunlana to Chairman NBA Ikeja Branch for application for Letter of Good Standing dated 22nd day of May , 2020
iv. Letter of Reminder of Mr. Adesina Ogunlana to Chairman NBA Ikeja Branch for Letter of Good Standing dated 26th May , 2020

It can easily be gleaned from your said letter of 12th June, 2020 to me that your Committee based its decision to disqualify me from the election on the sole basis that a Letter of Good Standing from the Chairman of my Branch was not found in my bundle of Application papers.

However, as you will recall, I had at the earliest opportunity and within time allowed for the submission of Nomination forms (May 29, 2020) , informed and alerted your good office to the STRANGE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL reason for the absence of the letter in question, to wit that Mr. Dele Oloke, the Chairman of the Ikeja Branch decided not to issue to me a Letter of Good Standing despite that to his notice and knowledge, I am in full compliance with the provisions of the Constitution guiding the issuance of Letters of Good Standing .

I respectfully reproduce the said Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended) inter alia :

“4. Good Standing

A member is in good standing and, if he so desires shall be entitled to a certification of that status signed by the Chairman of the Branch if

(1) In addition to this Bar Practising Fees, he has paid his Annual Dues and all other financial obligations to the Branch as and when due for at least the immediate preceding three years, unless he was enrolled or and relocated to the states where the Branch is situate when a shorter period which shall then be the threshold point instead of three years; and
(2) He or she has in the past one year in question participated in at least three or more activities of the Branch, including attendance at Branch meeting or the sponsorship thereof. Provided that one or more of these requirements may be waived upon proof of temporary relocation to a place outside in the state where the Branch is situate and or serious and prolonged illness.”

By Dele Oloke’s letter to me, dated 25th May, 2020 , but received on 28th May, 2020, particularly in paragraph 6, he highlighted the major reason why he would not issue Letter of Good Standing to me, to wit:

“6. At the Monthly Meeting of Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch held at its Secretariat (THE BAR CENTRE) on Monday, 2nd December, 2019 and upon the consideration of the reports of the Insurance Committee of the branch, the following resolution was made:
a. That Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, Mr. Yinka Farounbi, Mrs. Derin Kappo and all persons indicted by the report of the Insurance Committee and to whom monies were traced from the insurance funds of NBA Ikeja Branch , not being an insurance company, should return all such monies within 30 days from the date of the resolution.
b. That till now, you have treated the Branch with disdain and arrogance and have failed to refund the sum of eleven million six hundred and fifty thousand naira (N11, 650,000.00) withdrawn by you from the Branch’s insurance account into your personal account.

In view of the aforesaid reason the Branch is unable to issue a Letter of Good Standing to you and we also urge you to respect the Branch’s resolution mandating you to refund the Branch’s money unlawfully converted to your own use”

Sir, I respectfully ask your Committee, are these reasons good in law, in view of Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended) to deny me a Letter of Good Standing?

You will clearly see the strenuous extent I went debunking Oloke’s baseless and malicious allegations in the attachments to the letters I sent over to you, especially to wit, the Report of the Insurance Committee (which never claimed that I converted the Branch funds), My Response to the Report of the Insurance Committee and the Charge Sheet in Charge Number ID/9472C/2019., FGN v. ADESINA OGUNLANA & 2 ORS ( to show that Oloke’s interesting objection is on a “subject matter sub judice before the Courts).

I submit respectfully further as follows:

a. The absence of a Letter of Good Standing for me from my Branch Chairman, in my Application Forms is not due to any fault or negligence on my part as I duly paid all requisite fees (Bar Practising Fees and Branch Dues) as and when due for 2018, 2019 and 2020 and I had attended functions of the Branch more than three times in the past one year.

b. That I duly applied to the office saddled with the responsibility of Letter of
Good Standing within time.

c. The refusal and failure of the Chairman to issue me a Letter of Good Standing was malicious, deliberate and not on account of any failure on my part to comply with Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended).

My further submission on this Appeal is that in the circumstances of this case, your Committee would be in the right to hold that Ogunlana Adesina Ademola, my humble self, is entitled to be issued a Letter of Good Standing from the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association and the refusal and failure of the Chairman of the NBA Ikeja Branch to issue me the Letter duly applied for within time and in compliance with constitutional provisions is absolutely reprehensible , grossly oppressive and a brazen and violent breach of the Constitution of the Association and a reckless, malicious abuse of the powers of the Nigerian Bar Association.

In the unlikely event that your Honourable Committee fails to uphold my appeal, I submit as follows that a refusal of this Appeal will only mean as follows:

a. That the Committee has construed the office of Chairman of a Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association as a “CONSENTING AUTHORITY” to and on the eligibility of members of his Branch to contest for National Offices of the Association. It would mean where a Branch Chairman for no just and legal reasons refrain or refuse to issue to a Candidate or Aspirant, Letter of Good Standing or issuing same out of time to affect the eligibility of such a candidate, the Electoral Committee will disqualify such a candidate.

I submit with greatest respect that this cannot be the true and acceptable interpretation of the power and status of the Chairman vis the issuance of Letter of Good Standing. The Constitution, truly makes the Branch Chairman, the ISSUING OFFICE of the Letter of Good Standing but the same Constitution by expressly defining entitlement to receipt of Letter of Good Standing, as shown earlier, has circumscribed the powers of the Chairman in this regard from that of loose subjectivity to that of codified and verifiable objectivity.

In simple terms, the Chairman cannot do as he likes in the matter of issuance of Letters of Good Standing. Irrespective of his sentiments for or against the applicant, the Chairman can only be guided in the exercise of his duty or refrain from same , ONLY by the consideration of the Applicant’s compliance or non-compliance with the directives and stipulates of the Constitution in that regard.

May I humbly stress this point. By the constitutional provisions regarding the issuance of Letter of Good Standing by the Chairman of a Branch, it is a right of the Applicant to apply for and receive a Letter of Good Standing, where he is in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015(as amended). Consequently, the Chairman has a COMPELLING DUTY on him to issue the letter, where there is compliance. He,(the Chairman), therefore, is not dispensing or conferring a PRIVILEDGE on the Applicant. In effect, the Chairman issues the Letter of Good Standing not because the application meets with his PERSONAL APPROVAL but rather because it is in CONFORMITY with the provisions of the Constitution.

(b)Should the Honourable Committee disqualify me on account of my nomination packet not having a Letter of Good Standing from my Branch Chairman, irrespective of the fact that same was untowardly, wrongfully, maliciously and unconstitutionally denied by the Chairman despite due, timely application and compliance, it would mean that the Electoral Committee has construed the situation as a STRICT LIABILITY CASE. Such a stance in my humble view cannot in any way, legally and morally, even spiritually be upheld as proper and just. This is because not only is such a stance punishing the innocent for the unfair and oppressive act of another but also APPROVING AND LEGALIZING SAME. In the event such a stance has conferred tyrannical powers not ascribed to Branch Chairmen by the Constitution and turning them to Frankenstein monsters. This certainly cannot be the intendment of the Constitution.

CONCLUSION AND PRAYER
As I have asserted in my letter of May 29, 2020 to you, Sir, Dele Oloke Esq is well known as a bitter political rival of mine since 2016 in the NBA Ikeja Branch. He was the factional leader of the Branch between 2016 and 2017 when he was thrown up unsuccessfully to replace me as Chairman after the national body of the Association on June 16, 2016 purported to nullify my June 14, 2016 electoral victory as the bonafide Chairman.

I had to go to Court against him and the National body to contain the situation. Kindly find attached a Copy of the Ruling of the Honourable Justice M.A. Lawal of the Lagos High Court granting an order of injunction against the Defendants (Dele Oloke inclusive) in Suit Number LD/1141GCM/2016.

The factional leadership crisis at the Ikeja Bar ended in May 2017 when he declined at the last minute to participate in a fresh election ordered between the two of us for the disputed position of Chairman.

The bitter rivalry resurfaced at the last month of my tenure when I disagreed with the desire of Oloke and his group to hand over the office of Chairman to him automatically without an election. I insisted on the election as the only acceptable means to attaining position in the Branch, much to the discomfiture of Oloke and his supporters, who believe he could not win in any election organised by my administration. The election held and ironically, he won.

Dele Oloke saw his emergence as Branch Chairman as a great opportunity to deal with me and anyone associated with me and he applied his energies strenuously to this his GRAND PROJECT. The refusal to issue me a Letter of Good Standing is just the latest of his reprisal schemes and attacks against my interest.

I conclude with a sober and passionate prayer to your Committee to take a deep and insightful assessment of the claims and merits of my Appeal and grant same.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

OGUNLANA ADESINA ADEMOLA

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  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jun 17, 2020
  • 1.52k
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  • Comments Off on ODINKALU HAILS OGUNLANA’S DISQUALIFICATION, SET TO ENDORSE CANDIDATE

ODINKALU HAILS OGUNLANA’S DISQUALIFICATION, SET TO ENDORSE CANDIDATE

Leading human rights advocate, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu has plotted a roadmap for the incoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) leadership, saying there are three defining issues it must confront and resolve.

The former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman also endorsed the disqualification of fiery NBA presidential aspirant and former Chairman of NBA Ikeja Branch, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, urging him to face the hurdle of clearing his name in a financial embezzlement charge. Ogunlana has vowed to appeal his disqualification.

The full text of the statement is below:

The ECNBA has finally cleared the deck & the #NBADecides2020 campaign season is undeniably upon us.

I’m personally grateful that the ECNBA declined to present for the contest an aspirant who is presently undergoing prosecution on allegations of having misappropriated branch funds while he served as Chairman of his branch of the Bar. It would have been awful to do anything else. Obviously, that aspirant enjoys a presumption of innocence in accordance with law. While that persists, he will be well advised to focus on answering to those charges.

For reasons that are amply in the public domain, I have largely been on sabbatical from NBA affairs in the past two years. Events within & beyond Nigeria over that period – from Ethiopia to Kenya; Lesotho to Malawi & other places in which I have been personally involved – confirm me in the view, however, that an active Bar is an essential armour in a democracy.

#NBADecides2020 is an opportunity once more to attempt to give life to the NBA. The on-going campaigns are a window into what could happen thereafter.

I am taking an active interest in the campaigns because I intend to form an active view in the contests & to canvass for those I believe in.

These NBA elections matter life few in recent memory. We are at a generational inflection point institutionally, nationally & internationally. The president of the NBA who will be inaugurated in August 2020 will confront a pile-on of problems like none of his predecessors in recent memory. Young lawyers in particular, whose future is on the ballot in this contest have a duty to take sides & to do so actively.

All the cleared candidates have passed the threshold of Zoning. No one can claim to be more zonal than others who come from the same zone. The issue of zonal adoption must now be rested.

The issues do matter. In that respect, there are – for me – 3 defining issues:

#SkillsForAll: The #COVID19 pandemic has forced on our legal profession, an analogue-digital cross-over that had been begging for deployment. The needs unfurled by this imperative have no generational biases. There are very senior lawyers who can’t do SMS just as there are young lawyers who wonder what digital outsourcing means. The dichotomies between rural & urban branches have consequences in livelihoods & professional fulfilment. A leadership of NBA in 2020 must be willing & ambitious to invest in growing skills in our profession for the Post-COVID-19 world, without let or hinderance.

#NBAForAll : Our NBA is riven with all manner of debilitating, even antediluvian dichotomies that make no sense & make it easier for the rich & successful among us to capture the profession at the expense of the most, sometimes in ways that in themselves undermine value-for-money lawyering.

Every vocation deserves responsible seniors & elders. The dichotomies between Inner & Utter Bars, which should be a source of decent aspiration among desirous younger lawyers has become a free-for-all excuse in some cases for desperation.

Our female colleagues have a right to pursue the realisation of their fullest potentials without the patronising nonsense of being seen as “men in skirts”, a formulation that effectively calls them professional transvestites.

NBA deserves a leadership that can honour our past, be relevant to our present & have the capacity to prepare our younger lawyers for competition with Asian legal sweatshops of the immediate future. This means we need a Bar leadership with experience in building inter-generational institutions.

#NigeriaForAll : Over the past 2 years, while Nigeria has suffered, NBA has vegetated with our sights firmly fixed around our navel or below it. That is just not good enough.

Over the next decade & a half Nigeria will make a choice to prosper or perish. We will confront a unique mix of challenges like never before – fiscal insolvency, sclerotic or negative growth, demographic time-bomb, institutional melt-down, metastasis of nihilistic insecurity, energy exclusion, digital exclusion, hemispheric dissonance between north & south, & a sovereign crisis of demand of governance & supply of public goods.

The confluence of these issues will require deliberate & focused course-correction which only a centered leadership can evince. Absent that, our country will struggle to survive. If the country is imperilled, lawyers in the NBA can nary afford the pursuit of our vocation. An NBA of tribes & vibes will not be fit for purpose. A leadership for these times must see a country as bigger than the sum of its parts.

The defining issue will be Electoral Integrity . Any of the three cleared presidential candidates would be able to preside over a Bar. But this is not a season for an adequate leader. In 2020, a majority of our Bar should be willing to insist on an exceptional leader. NBA has struggled to survive two rigged national elections. It will not survive a third one. This ECNBA has a duty to ensure, like Caesar’s wife, that it is above reproach. It always easier to unite around a winner whose victory is above reproach.

These then are the issues around which we must find a leadership that can serve the NBA in these times. I am listening to the campaigns & consulting with my colleagues. I fully intend to take sides in #NBADecides2020 & will make my views public well before the vote because the issues have never been more urgent & being neutral – as Pontius Pilate taught us – is itself a position.

I remain City-Zen (Citizen) Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

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  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jun 13, 2020
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  • Comments Off on OGUNLANA VOWS TO CHALLENGE ECNBA DISQUALIFICATION

OGUNLANA VOWS TO CHALLENGE ECNBA DISQUALIFICATION

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr Adesina Ogunlana has vowed to challenge his disqualification to participate in the forthcoming presidential election of the association. The Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) had listed Ogunlana among those disqualified from the race. It gave no reasons.

However, Ogunlana in a “preliminary response” posted on his verified Facebook channel and cited by CITY LAWYER gave absence of Letter of Good Standing as the reason for his disqualification. He blamed outgoing NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr. Dele Oloke for his travails, warning that he would fight the disqualification.

The full text of his response reads:

DO NOT BE DISMAYED …..WE SHALL OVERCOME
BEING THE PRELIMINARY RESPONSE OF OGUNLANA ADESINA , ESQ (CHAIRMAN, NBA IKEJA BRANCH 2016-2018)TO THE NOTICE OF LETTER DISQUALFYING HIM FROM CONTESTING FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION ( NBA)

Dear Colleagues, Friends and Supporters ,
Good morning, All. May I respectfully inform that I have this day , -3 June 2020, at about 6 10 am, become aware of a mail from the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association ( ECNBA) stating my disqualification from participating in the election for the office of the President of our great Association .

The ECNBA gave a singular reason – absence of LETTER OF GOOD STANDING(LOGS) from my Branch Chairman . ECNBA also stated my right to appeal their verdict within 7 days of receipt of their mail. We thank ECNBA
May I further state that I shall APPEAL the verdict . Let me assure every one that my dues for 2018, 2019 and 2020 were duly and fully paid as at when due as stipulated in the Constitution of the Association and which automatically thus entitles me to the LOGS.

The absence of the LOGS was not due to any fault of mine but to the malicious act of the incumbent but now out going BRANCH CHAIRMAN of the NBA IKEJA BRANCH, Dele Oloke , Esq . Of course , the poisoned antecedents of Oloke as a factional leader of the IKEJA BAR and who eventually lost out to me in the extremely intense intra-Bar leadership struggle of 2016-2017 is well known .

Clearly , the issue for determination is- CAN A BRANCH CHAIRMAN DECLINE TO ISSUE A LETTER OF GOOD STANDING TO AN APPLICANT , WHERE APPLICANT TO THE NOTICE OF THE CHAIRMAN, HAS COMPLIED WITH THE PROVISIONS AND STIPULATES OF THE CONSTITUION (sic) IN THAT REGARD ?

May I use this medium to appeal to all our supporters not to be dismayed but to remain not only calm but cheerful . Always trusting in the Faithfulness and Mercies of God and the consistently triumphant forces of GOOD over EVIL I declare to you today , WE SHALL OVERCOME .

THANK YOU
OGUNLANA ADESINA ,ADEMOLA ESQ
13 JUNE 2020

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NBA ELECTIONS: OGUNLANA, AKOREDE, OBASI, SHILLINGS AMONG BIG CASUALTIES

• SEE FULL DETAILS OF OTHER DISQUALIFIED ASPIRANTS

The Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) early today released a list of aspirants who have been provisionally cleared to contest the 2020 NBA National Officers Elections. In a statement posted on the verified NBA official website and signed by Mr. Tawo Eja Tawo SAN and Cordelia Eke, the ECNBA Chairman and Secretary respectively, the committee stated that it received nominations from 43 aspirants for various offices.

The ECNBA noted in the statement dated June 12, 2020 that “At the close of the screening of nominations by a sub-committee of Electoral officers of the ECNBA in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended) and the Guidelines for the elections made pursuant thereto, twenty-four (24) Aspirants were granted provisional clearance to contest the elections, while nineteen (19) Aspirants were disqualified for various reasons.”

Though the committee did not state the reasons for the disqualifications nor the names of disqualified aspirants, it added that “The disqualified Aspirants have been duly notified of the decision of the electoral officers and their right of Appeal.” The ECNBA also stated that “Any information or objection relevant to the final decision on the eligibility status of the candidates, with supporting documents (where necessary) should reach the ECNBA via email to ecnba2020@gmail.com not later than 4.00PM on the 17th day of June, 2020.”

CITY LAWYER investigations however show that several Bar heavyweights including two incumbent National Officers fell under the ECNBA hammer. Meanwhile, at least three aspirants may coast to victory without firing a shot, no thanks to the disqualification of their opponents. The aspirants that may be returned unopposed include those for the posts of Treasurer, Publicity Secretary and Financial Secretary.

Among those who were hit by the screening exercise is fiery presidential aspirant and former NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana. While his three other competitors were cleared, Ogunlana’s name was conspicuously missing from the list of cleared aspirants.

Another big casualty is incumbent Second Assistant Secretary Chinyere Obasi, who was gunning for the post of Welfare Secretary. Her disqualification, if sustained, may brighten the chances for incumbent Publicity Secretary, Kunle Edun and returnee aspirant, Sabastine Anyia who contested for the position at the last elections. There are indications that another aspirant for the post, Osehon Irehovbude may have also been disqualified.

Also caught in the web of the disqualification exercise is incumbent Assistant Publicity Secretary, Mr. Akorede Habeeb Lawal who was aspiring for the substantive post of Publicity Secretary. The same fate was suffered by Olayinka Sokoya, thus leaving Dr. Rapulu Ernest Nduka as the solitary aspirant for the position.

CITY LAWYER investigations show that the influential and often heatedly contested position of Treasurer may also be clinched without a fight by returnee aspirant, Mercy Ijato Agada following the disqualification of staunch NBA Ikeja Branch bar-woman, Caroline Ibharuneafe. The same is true of the post of Financial Secretary where only Raphael Anagor has been given the all-clear to head for the polls.

Also affected by the wave of disqualifications is prominent Bar-man and Ikorodu Branch power-broker, Mr. S. O. K. Shillings. He was gunning for the post of First Vice President. Another big casualty from the branch is its former Chairman, Mr. Adedotun Habeeb Adetunji who was also vying for the same position.

Meanwhile, the NBA may be bereft of a Third Vice President, as the two aspirants who may have filed their nominations for the position fell under the NBA hammer. They include Messrs Gerald Abonyi and Promise Wobo Iwezor.

The position of Assistant Secretary is likely to be keenly contested, as all three aspirants were given the green light by the ECNBA. They include returnee aspirant Anne Agi, former NBA Lagos Branch Social Secretary, Uche Nwadialo and Osagie Oaikhena of Benin Branch.

It was also a gale of disqualifications among the rank of aspirants for the post of Assistant Publicity Secretary, as three of no less than five aspirants kissed the dust. These include Messrs Henry Chibuike Ugwu of Ihiala Branch, Oladotun Hassan of Epe Branch and Charles Ajiboye of Ikeja Branch.

Meanwhile, three of the presidential aspirants have been cleared to contest for the coveted post, including Mr. Dele Adesina SAN, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN and Mr. Olumide Akpata. All the aspirants for the position of General Secretary were also given the green light to head into the elections. They include Alex Muoka, Joyce Oduah, Okey Ohagba, Nnaemeka Bath Aniche and Christopher Yakemewerigha.

CITY LAWYER investigations show that many of the disqualified aspirants will contest the ECNBA decisions by filing appeals against their disqualification.

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