NBA Renews Subsidised Access To LawPvilion Primsol For Young Lawyers

*As President, Maikyau Promises To Prioritise The Welfare Of Young Lawyers

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN, has announced the renewal of Lawpavilion primsol license of young lawyers.

He made this known in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer following completion of negotiations which spanned several week with the electronic law reporting company.

According to Maikyau, on assumption of office, he instructed for a reactivation of the package which was kickstarted under his watch as Chairman of the NBA Welfare Committee in the immediate past administration. However, this was met with a brickwall, as the management of Lawpavilion indicated their desire to increase the price by over 200% from what obtained previously.

The statement reads in part, “Members will recall, that as Chairman of the NBA Welfare Committee under the immediate past administration, I had the privilege of negotiating the deal that culminated in the ‘free Primsol subscription’. The negotiated and agreed deal was as follows:

All Members of the Association between 1 – 7 years post call – N3,000 (Three Thousand Naira Only) to be paid by the NBA, amounting to N60,378,000.00 (Sixty Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-Eight Thousand Naira Only) for 20, 126 (Twenty Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty-Six) young lawyers,

8 – 15 Years Post call – N3,000 (Three Thousand Naira Only),
16 – 30 Years Post Call – N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira Only),
31 – 40 Years Post Call – N15,000 (Fifteen Thousand Naira Only),
41 Years and above + SAN – N25,000 (Twenty-Five Thousand Naira Only).

Upon assuming office on 26 August 2022, I was poised to instruct LawPavilion to immediately reactivate the licence but that did not happen, as the management of LawPavilion indicated their decision to review the price of the package for the young lawyers from N3,000 (Three Thousand Naira Only) to the sum of N10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Naira Only) representing over 200% increment on the expired deal.”

He added that the proposed increment by Lawpavilion was based on their concerns that the subsidised access led to a decline in regular subscriptions by lawyers which affected the company’s overall revenue.

He added, “Now, I must state, that although the increment is significant when compared to the expired deal, it remains a huge bargain when compared to the actual cost of the Primsol package, which is N90,000 (Ninety Thousand Naira). It is also important to bear in mind the current high inflation rate and the general economic situation of Nigeria. Even more worrisome to the management of LawPavilion is that they observed, regarding the negotiated subsidies for other groups of lawyers as stated above, that some of our colleagues and regular subscribers simply refused to renew their regular subscriptions and instead, resorted to the use of the free subscription provided for young lawyers by the NBA. This, according to the management of LawPavilion completely eroded their overall profit and threatened the sustainability of their business, thus the need for the upward review.”

Maikyau also noted that despite the benefits of the welfare package, a 200% increase in cost will definitely affect the administration’s ability to meet its other financial obligation, and thus, they had to negotiate with the management of LawPavilion to reach a compromise.

He thanked the management of Lawpavilion for their cooperation during the negotiation process while also appreciating young lawyers for their patience during the negotiation process.

“May I use this medium to thank the management of LawPavilion, particularly the Managing Director, Mr. Ope Olugasa. I have found him a shrewd and reasonable businessman from our first engagement, and this has not changed. I thank the members of the National Executive Committee of the NBA for their steadfastness. More importantly, I thank you the members of our Association, particularly the young lawyers, for your patience and understanding in the waiting period, even as I undertake to continue to do my utmost to serve the Bar, honestly and transparently, to the best of my ability.”