Submission Of Memoranda To The NBA Electoral Reform & Audit Committee Should Be In Line With Its Terms Of Reference, Says NBA

The NBA Publicity Secretary, Dr. Rapulu Nduka has stated that the submission of memoranda to the NBA Electoral Reform & Audit Committee should be in line with the terms of reference given to the Committee by the leadership of the Association.

This is contained in a statement which was made available to TheNigeriaLawyer (TNL).

The statement reads:

INVITATION TO SUBMIT MEMORANDA FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE NBA ELECTORAL REFORM AND AUDIT COMMITTEE

Dear Colleagues,

Recall that on the 30th day of September 2020, the Electoral Reform and Audit Committee, was inaugurated to audit the past three NBA elections and to proffer recommendations that will ensure that future elections are without complaints.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee include:

a.  To audit the elections of National Officers of the NBA of 2016, 2018 and 2020 and recommend reforms (if any) of the electoral process;

b.  To receive Memoranda and carry out extensive consultations across all demographics of the NBA on the experiences of the 2016, 2018 and 2020 NBA Elections in order to make recommendations that will strengthen the conduct of transparent, free, fair and credible elections of National Officers of the NBA;

c.  To review post-election audit reports (if any) for the 2016, 2018 and 2020 election of National Officers of the NBA by the Election Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (“ECNBA”) or any other body appointed to conduct the post-election Audits;

d.  To identify any issues, failures or irregularities with the process and conduct of the 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections of the National Officers of the NBA and make recommendations;

e. To study the provisions of the NBA Constitution (as amended) on elections of National Officers of the NBA and propose amendments as may be deemed necessary;

f. To identify international best practices on conduct of elections of Professional Associations similar to the NBA that will impact positively on the quality and credibility of elections of the National officers of the NBA;

g.  To review the efficiency of the National Secretariat in assisting the Election Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) and make recommendations to strengthen the role of the ECNBA and its independence in dealing directly with branches on data collation and management with minimal interference of the National Secretariat of the NBA;

h. To review and recommend ways to strengthen data collation, storage and management for elections;

i. To work on all such areas that would improve Data Collection of Members of the NBA and Electronic Voting to guarantee free, fair, transparent and credible elections;

j. To do anything that the Committee may consider relevant or necessary in connection with these terms of reference; and

k.  To make recommendations deemed necessary for the realization of these terms of reference.

The Committee kindly requests members of the Nigerian Bar Association to send in their Memoranda in line with the above terms of reference.

The Memoranda should be addressed to the “Chairman, NBA Electoral Reform and Audit Committee” and submitted in soft copies by e-mail to: electoralreform@nigerianbar.org.ng on or before 6.00 pm on Monday, November 2, 2020

Kindly note that all Memoranda must not be more than 6 pages, using 12 font size of either Arial or Times New Roman; and must be limited to the terms of reference specified above.

The Committee has until the 31st of December 2020 to deliver its assignment and will be counting in your support and assistance.

Dr. Rapulu Nduka
Publicity Secretary,
Nigerian Bar Association