A former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Emeka Obegolu, Esq said Monday O. Ubani has “just provoked a discussion bordering on the economic impact of COVID-19 on the average Nigerian lawyer.”

MOU had appealed to NBA President to consider extending the time for lawyers to pay their Bar Practicing Fees.

In a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer (TNL), Obegolu said: “Of course, MOU knows that NBA President cannot change the law but I expected the NBA President to first empathize with the affected lawyers, accept that the concern is valid, throw NBA weight behind the clamour and assure the lawyers that NBA will seek creative solutions to address the issue.”

He said “Humanity has come together during this unprecedented lockdown and economic paralysis to support each other. We should, as an Association, show that the leadership is responsive to the realities of today.”

Obegolu added that “The same NBA amended constitution and made it retrospective in effect, and today we cannot support a legitimate clamour because of statutory handicap.
The welfare of Nigerian Lawyers remains the objective of NBA and I expect the Trustees of NBA to take a position on this issue.
Regrettably, none of the candidates for the various offices in NBA has articulated a humane approach to this issue.”

He commends “the Chair of Ikorodu branch for offering some percentage refund of the branch dues in a demonstrable recognition of the debilitating effect of COVID-19 on the average lawyer.”

“May that day never come when we will lose our common humanity,” he concluded

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