- An open letter to the President of the Nigerian Bar Association
By M.O. Idam
Dear Mr.President,
I have gone through the list of the newly approved conference registration fee for 2024 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) circulating online, which amongst others stipulates that a 1 to 9 years post-call lawyer shall pay the sum of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) for early bird, N75,000.00 (Seventy-Five Thousand Naira ) for regular, while late payment is N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira ) and N250,000.00 ( Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) for on site payment respectively. And a 10 to 19 years post-call lawyer where I belong are expected to pay the sum of Seventy-Five Thousand Naira (N75,000.00) for early bird, N 100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) for regular, N250,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) for late registration and N350,000.00 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) for on-site payments respectively.
It may not be illogical to say that the NBA NEC members appear to be totally disconnected from the economic position of majority of Nigerian lawyers, otherwise how and where would a newly CALLED lawyer be expected to source between N50,000.00 to N200,000.00 to pay NBA in order to attend its AGC ?
It appears to me that the association is now out to merchandise its conference or it does not expect majority of its members to be in attendance. I am worried to see that the NBA will conveniently task its members for confrence fees but would be less or uninterested in the welfare of its members. Till date, the regulation and enforcement of lawyers’ remuneration has been an impossible task to meet by NBA even though it does not require rocket science to achieve.
Unless the AGC is now reserved for the deep pockets among lawyers in Nigeria, I daresay that the new fees do not target the attendance of majority of lawyers in Nigeria. Therefore, I call on the NBA president to convene another NEC Meeting with the sole objective of re-adjusting the fees downwardly to reflect the realities of lawyers earnings in Nigeria.
The NBA must not pretend to be ignorant of the fact that majority of lawyers in Nigeria live below average and there is a need to capture member in its policy.
Accept my regard.
M.O. Idam.
