There Is No ‘Wasteful Spending’ On The Forthcoming Virtual NBA Annual General Conference.
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Contrary to news making around on the claims being made that the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association Virtual (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) is surrounded with a budget of extravagance, most particularly as it relates to the website to be used, a member of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP), who does not want his name mentioned disclosed to TheNigeriaLawyer(TNL) that these allegations are due to ignorance of the actual facts needed.
While explaining the mode in which the conference is going to take, the source stated that:
“Because it is a conference that we are inviting people to come and speak, it makes a lot of sense that we should actually have a studio where there will be a control centre, not this type of webinar that someone’s service would drop.
“Here, we are planning to invite the speakers, to be present at the venue. So We decided we would have two venues in two different places.
“One would be in Eko hotel Lagos and the other one is going to be in NBA house, so that the people who are in Lagos, don’t have to go to NBA house. They can simply go to these places for the conference.
“The people who are going to be in Abuja, they can go to Abuja. All these can’t be done free. Even setting up of the stages won’t be done without paying for the services rendered,” the source added.
Furthermore, on the reason for having a website, he noted that the NBA has always had cause to make use of website for a very long time and it is equally needed now.
“The website is being built quite separately every year for AGC and FOR THIS year, it is necessary for us to have the website because we did not want the thing to come and pollute or cause disturbance to the Programme. It is from the website that people register, it is the website that has everything on it”.
He also said that prior to the present administration, much monies were being spent on website and now, the budget has been cut to the barest minimum on it and he went further to disclose the special arrangement the Committee is making for Zoom company to create a specific package for the conference.
“Let me also point out something else, this is a special webinar, not just ordinary webinar. This is a special construct by Zoom, to accommodate 10,000 people. The ordinary webinar does not take that much.”
“Now if it goes beyond 10,000, there is a likelihood that it is going to spill over. The people will have to watch it, using different other media systems to watch it. YouTube for example.”
“TCCP are trying to get DSTV so that people can watch and that does not cost money or is that wasteful spending?”
“Because the conference is for knowledge-sharing we made it free for everyone to benefit and that is why the committee is putting all of these together for all members.”
He also said that the money for this year’s conference is not going to come from the NBA purse as they are targeting some Organisations to fund the AGC.
In addition, he noted that those making allegations of wasteful spending are bereft of facts and the background knowledge that is needed and that it is just a budget for the conference not as if the alleged fund has been spent.
He further stated that as it were, the Nigerian Bar Association has up to 700 Million Naira in her account. That the present administration inherited about 1 Billion Naira debt in which everything had been paid off.
“What is wrong if the president decides to give lawyers fantastic conference by spending #100 million out of the 700 million Naira, “ he asked.
The source also said that the Paul Usoro, SAN, led administration has paid the 10% of BPF and Lawyers’ insurance package has been renewed and as at now, up to 37 families of late colleagues have benefited from that insurance.
In addition, it was stated that no past NBA administration has been publishing quarterly accounts as is being done by the present administration.
“The first batch of Lawyers (about 5,000 plus) have benefited from the NBA COVID-19 palliative fund, this, in addition to the free Law Pavilion subscription of the present administration. The NBA house has been completed.
“Despite some of these laudable things, that the NBA still has “solid change left” to be inherited by the next administration.
In another development, however, the source further informed TNL, that due to all these unverified claims made by lawyers on various social media, that most top organisations in Nigeria, do not want to accept any engagement from NBA.
They are seeing the Association as a body with too many controversies even when some of the allegations being peddled on social media are untrue, unverified and this has caused damage to the reputation of the Association.
“Some of these people think they are doing that to the Usoro led administration without taking into consideration the reputation of the Association.
The source also informed TNL, that the NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN, spoke with 3 top accounting firms in Nigeria for audit and they all turned him down, stating that lawyers have become too controversial and they are seeing some of their statements on social media and as such, would not want to have any engagement with the Association.
“He contacted KPMG, Ernst & Young And Deloitte & Touche. Last year during the AGC Deloitte & Touche, was appointed to do our audit. This year they pulled out that they would not want to continue with NBA. This is exactly what we as lawyers are doing, running down the association,” the source added.
He also added that the president will submit the full report of the election at NEC.
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