NBA Releases Notice Of Payment Of 2021 Bar Practicing Fee, Lists Benefits [IN FULL]

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata has charged all Nigerian Lawyers to pay their 2021 Annual Bar Practicing Fees in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners in Nigeria.

The NBA President disclosed this in a statement which was made available to TheNigeriaLawyer on Tuesday.

Mr. Akpata noted that as practice demands, it is expedient for the payment to be made in order to reap the benefits that come with the payment.

The statement reads:

Distinguished Colleagues,

It is with joy that I write to you all today. I am grateful to our Maker for keeping us all alive and in health to witness a new year, the challenges of the past year and the attendant public health crisis notwithstanding. I believe that with lessons learnt, we will all come out stronger. I therefore wish you all the best that this year has to offer.

On Practicing Fees  

As you all know, with each new year comes the need to pay our Annual Bar Practicing Fees (“BPF”) by all lawyers enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. This payment usually commences from 1st January and ends on 31st March every year. The same applies this year by virtue of Rule 9 (1) – (3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. I therefore ask that you all to pay the BPF within this period.

Benefits of Paying  

Payment of your BPF is a requirement to maintain your practice licence, retain your name on the roll of legal practitioners, and to be in good standing. Extant laws make it a professional misconduct not to pay within the applicable period. But beyond the aforementioned, and in line with the promises I made to the Bar, upon payment of the BPF and Branch Dues as and when due, members will be entitled to two (2) free packs of stamp and seal (48 stamps in all). Other benefits of paying within the prescribed period include:

• Automatic Life Insurance cover of up to N2 million;
• Permanent/total disability insurance cover of up to N1 million; critical illness cover of up to N500,000.00 and a limited accidental medical expense cover;
• Being eligible for the health insurance, access to finance and other welfare programmes to be set up by the NBA;
• Meeting the eligibility requirements for Notary Public Application;
• Meeting the eligibility requirements for Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Application;
• Being eligible to vote and be voted for at all NBA National and Branch Elections; and   Eligibility for Letter of Good Standing from the NBA.

Further to the above, upon filing processes in our Courts, proof of payment of BPF is sufficient in lieu of the stamp and seal receipt. It is therefore important to retain proof of payment. For those who  require additional stamps and seals, your local branch will afford you the requisite information relating thereto, which is indeed not different from what has always been done.

Please note that the provisions of Rule 10 of the Rules of Professional Conduct remain in force, and as such, the stamp and seal still remain a compulsory requirement for signing and filing legal documents.

Mode of payment and other relevant information  

Payment can be made online or at any branch of Access Bank. Those who wish to pay online should  log into their membership portal on https://nigerianbar.org.ng/membership-portal and follow the  instructions.

Those who wish to pay using the manual process should pay into the following account using a customized or other teller provided by the bank:

Account name: Supreme Court of Nigeria (BPF)  

Account Number: 0000976716  

Bank: Access Bank  

When completing your payment forms (whether online or at the bank), please indicate your full details (including your name and unique Supreme Court Number) for ease of identification. For instance, your name should appear as “Abubakar Emeka Tunde” and not as “Abubakar E. T” or other formulations.

Members should also indicate their branch names and branch codes on the payment tellers. The branch codes for Branches of the NBA are contained at the end of this notice.

Schedule of Fees Payable  

The schedule of BPF per year of call is as follows:

• Senior Advocates & Honourable Benchers – N50,000
• Legal Practitioners of 15 Years & above post call – N25,000
• Legal Practitioners of 10-14 Years post call – N17,500
• Legal Practitioners 5-9 Years post call – N10,000

Legal Practitioners of 1-4 Years post call – N5,000

NBA Branches and Codes  

Distinguished colleagues, the Bar is all we have, and we must do all within our power to ensure we continue to uphold the tenets of our profession. On our part, we will continue to make the Bar work for all.