NOTICE TO ALL BRANCHES Dear Chairman/ Secretary Consequent upon the failure and or refusal of Branches to observe the mandatory provisions of the NBA Uniform Byelaws as it concerns the term of office and election of Branch Officers, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Augustine Alegeh SAN, hereby directs the issuance of this notice: 1. The NBA National Secretariat will no longer accord recognition to Branch Officers who are elected in an election held in a month other than June as the Uniform Byelaws for Branches requires elections of Branch Officers to be held only in the month of June. 2. All Branch Electoral Committee should make arrangements for election of officers of the Branch in the month of June in line with Article 10(3)(b) of the Uniform Byelaws. Where the tenure of the Branch officers will not expire in the month of June a Care-taker Committee to be composed of at least three past Chairmen of the Branch (unless impracticable due to a recent founding of the Branch, in which case, at least one past Chairman and Secretary and, if not available, as composed by the President of the Association, shall be set up at the expiration of the tenure of the Branch officers. 3. The duties of the Care-taker Committee shall be to take over the running of the Branch and protect the property and estate of the Branch in the interim and forthwith arrange for the holding of an Annual General Meeting wherein officers of the Branch shall be elected – Article 11(1)(a) in June after the expiration of the tenure of the Branch officers. 4. The NBA National Secretariat should be immediately noticed as soon as a care-taker committee is set up to take over the administration of a Branch. 5. All Chairmen are advised to ensure they put machinery in place to ensure election of officers of their branch are held in the month of June coming immediately after the expiration of their tenure where their tenure does not lapse in June. 6. Officers of the Branch shall be elected every two (2) years at an election preceding or at the Annual General Meeting for the election year. No member of the Branch shall occupy the same office for more than one term of two (2) years. 7. A person may with the approval of NEC granted prior to the Branch election only hold office as Chairman or Secretary for a further two (2) year term, if it is satisfactorily proved that the Branch does not have requisite qualified persons to stand for election to any of those offices. 8. The National Secretariat will neither recognise nor deal with any Chairman, Secretary or indeed any Branch Officer who claims to have been ‘re-elected’ into the same office in violation of the Uniform Byelaws. 9. The NBA will also neither accord recognition to any Chairman, Secretary, NEC Rep or member of his/her Exco who remains in office after the expiration of their two-year tenure. Their attendance at NEC Meetings will also be downgraded to observer status. DATED THIS 5TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2016 Mazi Afam Osigwe General Secretary, NBA]]>