NBA President, Paul Usoro,SAN has lauded all past Presidents who have supported him since he emerged as the president.
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The President made this statement in his address for the Annual General Meeting of the Association.
In the address he listed all the reforms that his administration has achieved since one year he came in as the President.
His administration has been able to revamp Financial prudence and accountability of the Association,
Secretariat Reform, 10%remittance of Bar Practice fee to branches, members welfare, and more.
Below is his statement
NBA PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS TO THE 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION
1. Introduction
1.1 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 2019 Annual General Meeting of our Association, the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”), our first AGM as your elected officials. It is one year, to the date, today, since you graciously gave us the mandate to pilot the affairs of the Association, as your National Officers, for a two year term, starting from 2018 to 2020.
1.2 That mandate was based on commitments that we made while campaigning for our respective offices and this AGM affords us the opportunity to present, in
kaleidoscopic format, our Report Card for the last one year. In presenting that Report Card, I would bifurcate it into two main parts in the succeeding paragraphs of this 2. 2018-2019 Report Card 2.1 Rebuilding of Confidence and Trust of Members in the NBA
2.1.1 I think our greatest success in the last one year has been in restoring the faith and confidence that members have in the Association and its National Officers. I can easily give two indices that portend these renewed and enhanced confidence and trust, viz:
a. We have just concluded the most-attended Annual General Conference (“AGC”) in the history of our Association. With about 12,000 delegates, the 2019 AGC easily qualifies as the largest gathering or congregation of lawyers in world history. It is not just in the aggregate numbers that we measure the renewed confidence of our members in the Association but more so in the fact
that the delegates joyfully stayed throughout the Conference. As at yesterday, 28 August 2019 which was the last day of the Conference, the Halls for the various sessions were packed full and, in some cases, with no standing room. I truly feel humbled that our members expressed their confidence and trust in our leadership by turning out in such great numbers for the AGC which, from the testimonies I have received, did not disappoint howsoever and, in particular, in terms of logistics arrangements and the Session Programs/Contents and Speakers.
b. The second index is in the drastically diminished if not completely extirpated expressions of distrust of National Officers, particularly, in regard to the management of the Association’s Funds. This was a general refrain as at when we came into office, but those voices appear to have been calmed if not completely wiped out.
2.1.2 How did we achieve this feat? Primarily, it is God’s Grace and we thank and glorify His Name at all times. In His infinite mercies, He gave us wisdom to implement the following non-exhaustive reforms and we believe these reforms renewed and bolstered the confidence and trust of our members in the Association:
i. Corporate Governance Reforms. The flagship of our corporate governance reform has been the consistent publication of the Association’s Quarterly Financial Statements and of course, the Closing Accounts as at 28 August 2018.
This, arguably, is the flagship step that has restored credibility to the Association and, by extension, the National Officers. We consider these Governance reforms as the bedrock for turning around our Association and placing it on the path of consistent rectitude and effective administration. That informs the constitutional amendments that we have proposed for consideration by members at this AGM and we are hopeful that members would see reason to institutionalize the reforms and make them mandatory and sanctionable.
ii. Financial Prudence and Accountability. As a corollary to the first point above, we have been very prudent in the management of the Association’s funds and this is well represented in the Quarterly Management Accounts which we have consistently published. Not only have we been prudent, we have been scrupulously transparent and accountable in the management of your funds. That was our commitment from Day One of our assumption of office and that is a commitment that will subsist up to the last day of our tenure.
iii. Secretariat Reforms. The public face of our Secretariat reforms could be seen in the drastically shortened delivery time of stamps to our members – these days, within 7 (seven) and not more than 14 (fourteen) days from when the orders are received at the National Secretariat from the Branches. This was a significant campaign issue at the time of the last NBA Election, and we
feel satisfied that the complaints thereon have been eliminated. This is but one of the reforms that we have carried out at the National Secretariat. Amongst the other tangible and intangible reforms that we now have at the Secretariat is a new and functional organogram that was approved by NEC and which is being implemented. When fully implemented, it would give the Association a most effective and efficient Secretariat administration.
iv. 10% Bar Practice Fee (“BPF”) Remittance to Branches.
It is no more news that we paid 10% of the BPF to our Branches, establishing thereby that our word, as National Officers, remains our bond. That was a promise that we made during our campaigns and we kept it, without any prompting and even in the face of inherited liabilities. Our commitment in this regard will also persist up till the end of our tenure.
v. Members’ Welfare. For me, one of the darkest incidents during our tenure has been the incessant kidnap and murder of our members. This confounding tragedy sadly pervades our national life and we have been most outspoken in condemning and calling attention to it. More than that, I have consistently called the Branch Chairmen and families of our affected members to
empathize with and/or condole them. We do these not just as a matter of duty but because it is the right thing to do.
vi. Communication with and to Members.
We have greatly improved on our communication with and to members. Mails are sent to members constantly updating them with information on fresh initiatives by your National Officers. Beyond the general communication, we have set up Secretariat free-toll hotlines for the use of members. I have personally picked up complaints from members on social media and attended to them or directed Secretariat personnel to attend to them and there are several public testimonies to this fact.
vii. External Stakeholders’ Confidence. By vetting and paying some of our
inherited debts, we are restoring confidence in the Association amongst external stakeholders. The details of these payments are always reflected in our Quarterly Management Accounts. As far as the debts that are arise during our tenure are concerned, we pay these promptly in order to maintain the credibility of your Association and the confidence of the affected external stakeholders.
2.2 State of the Nation/Rule of Law
2.2.1 The NBA has been and remains not just the conscience of our Nation but the voice of the voiceless. This is a critical role that we owe society as lawyers. In this regard, we have been quite loud and definitely not muted in constructively criticizing government and its agencies when necessary and required. A classic instance of this was the NBA Communique that was published after the 3rd Quarter NEC meeting in June 2019.
2.2.2 Another outstanding instance was the NBA’s reaction during the Onnoghen CJN’s saga.
In that regard, I must pay special tribute to our statutory NEC members who gave me outstanding support during that period. The Emergency NEC meeting that was called to discuss the issue was attended by virtually all our statutory NEC members from the various Branches and the decisions that we took were reached unanimously by the members present. That, by itself was a record in the history of the NBA.
3. 2019-2020 Plans
3.1 Having summarized our work of the past one year, what are the big issues that will occupy our time and thoughts for the remainder of our tenure? I would list these out as follows, in no particular order and without intending to be exhaustive: I. Young Lawyers. We could not do much for the young lawyers in the preceding year, given the foundational issues that we had to address. We are however committed to focusing on this class of future leaders of our profession – and by extension, Nigerian leaders – and would reflect this, starting with the constitution of the Young Lawyers’ Forum (“YLF”) within a week from today. We would also refocus the YLF to serve primarily as a training and mentorship platform for these young lawyers. II. Consolidation of Reforms and Gains of 2018-2019. We shall consolidate on the gains that we have so far made as listed out in the preceding paragraphs of this Address. One particular instance of such planned consolidation relates to the welfare of our members through the restoration of the insurance policy for our members – a project that we are facilitating.
We are also hoping that this AGM will strengthen our hand in consolidating the reforms through the amendment of the NBA Constitution as proposed by us.
III. 2020 Elections. I have consistently given the assurance that we will conduct a credible and outstanding 2020 NBA Elections. This commitment we shall keep and as our plans in that regard unfold, we would keep our members duly informed. IV. Reform of Disciplinary Processes. It is obvious to everyone that our disciplinary processes require urgent reforms if stakeholder-confidence (both internal and external) must be restored. I gave a commitment in this regard at yesterday’s AGC plenary session which focused on the required reforms in our profession and we shall keep that commitment.
3.2 As I mentioned earlier, the headline issues that we highlight above are not exhaustive of the matters that we would address in the next one year. There are, of course, such other critical issues, like the Continuing Legal Education Reforms, reactivation of the Human Rights Institute which we intend to couple with the NBA’s pro bono activities as part of our Rule of Law advocacy. These and several other issues we would, by God’s Grace, address in the remainder of our tenure, in fulfilment of our commitment to leave the NBA in a better and reformed state than we met it.
4. Conclusion
4.1 In concluding, I must again thank you all for the tremendous support that we have received from all our members. In particular, I pay special tribute to all our Past Presidents who have been totally united in supporting us and very generous and forthcoming with their words of wisdom and advice for me. I must also thank, most especially, all our NEC members who have shown such incredible faith and belief in us by consistently supporting our initiatives. I cannot at all forget to specially thank my Branch Chairmen who remain my bulwark, partners and ambassadors. They are the ones who carry the flag for me at the Branch level and explain my thoughts and programs to our members. I remain deeply appreciative of your support and continue to count on it for the remainder of our term.
4.2 I wish us all most fruitful deliberations at this AGM.
Long live the Nigerian Bar Association.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Paul Usoro, SAN NBA President
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