The numbers tell a striking story of financial recovery at the Nigerian Bar Association. But behind the ₦6.5 billion bank balance lies a more important question: how much of the money is actually free to spend, and what should the Bar spend it on?
PORT HARCOURT — The Nigerian Bar Association is leaving its 2025–2026 financial year with a balance sheet that looks considerably stronger than the one it inherited at the beginning of the current financial period: ₦6.522 billion in bank balances, ₦4.154 billion in fixed deposits, ₦4.584 billion in income and a half-year surplus of ₦2.106 billion.
But the most important figure in the accounts may not be the headline balance.
Much of the money sitting in NBA accounts is already assigned to particular programmes, projects and funds. The Association’s own financial report cautions that the ₦6.522 billion should not be treated as a pot of unrestricted cash available for whatever the leadership chooses to spend.
That qualification gives the financial report a more interesting story than the headline suggests.
Presented by National Treasurer Blessing Imo Udofa-Poromon at the NBA’s 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, the interim accounts for the six months ended June 30, 2026 show an Association that has accumulated substantial financial reserves while also spending heavily on its principal activities, including conferences, elections and professional services.
From ₦4.45bn to ₦6.52bn
The NBA entered 2026 with approximately ₦4.454 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
Six months later, that figure had risen to ₦6.522 billion — an increase of about ₦2.068 billion.
Of the June balance, ₦4.154264 billion was held in fixed deposits.
The fixed deposits were spread across three institutions: ₦1.1 billion with Access Bank, ₦1.4 billion with Coronation Merchant Bank and ₦1.654 billion with Sterling Bank.
The Association also reported ₦1.170 billion in its Access Bank Annual General Conference account, alongside substantial balances in its Bar Practising Fee, administrative, stabilisation and other accounts.
But these figures should not be read as equivalent to disposable cash.
The financial statements identify a number of accounts and funds as restricted or earmarked for particular purposes. At June 30, unrestricted members’ funds stood at ₦8.454 billion, while ₦529.751 million was classified as restricted.
That distinction matters. A healthy balance sheet is not the same thing as an unrestricted spending balance.
The ₦2.1bn surplus
The most striking figure in the report is perhaps the ₦2.105942 billion surplus recorded in the first six months of the year.
The NBA generated ₦4.584 billion in income against expenditure of ₦2.478 billion.
Income included ₦3.868 billion in unrestricted income, ₦337.388 million in restricted income and ₦379.157 million in interest income.
On the expenditure side, programme services accounted for ₦1.215 billion, general and administrative expenses ₦1.117 billion, personnel costs ₦133.314 million, depreciation ₦5.139 million and amortisation ₦8.2 million.
The Treasurer attributed the surplus to what the report called a “fundamental rethinking and radical redesign” of the Association’s processes to improve financial performance.
That is a significant claim.
If the improvement is the product of permanent changes in financial controls, collection systems, investment management and expenditure discipline, the result could extend well beyond this administration.
If, however, a substantial portion of the increase is attributable to timing, conference-related receipts or other one-off movements, the figures would need to be read differently.
The accounts themselves provide the basis for the stronger numbers, but the incoming administration will have to demonstrate that the improvement is sustainable.
Where the money is going
The NBA’s financial report also offers a glimpse into the cost of running one of Africa’s largest professional associations.
Conference-related expenditure was reported at more than ₦1 billion during the period, while the headline financial report also records approximately ₦150.215 million spent on the NBA election and ₦344.117 million on stamps and licences.
Those figures deserve attention because they represent very different categories of expenditure.
The Annual General Conference is the Association’s largest recurring professional gathering and requires enormous logistical expenditure. The election, by contrast, is periodic but essential to the Association’s governance. Stamps and licences relate directly to the professional regulatory functions through which the NBA serves its members.
The question for members is therefore not simply whether these sums were spent.
It is whether the Association obtained commensurate value for the money.
That is ultimately the test of a financial report.
The balance sheet tells another story
Beyond cash, the NBA reported total assets of ₦9.930 billion as at June 30, compared with ₦7.852 billion at the end of December 2025.
Its non-current assets stood at ₦3.306 billion, including ₦3.183 billion in property, plant and equipment and ₦123 million in intangible assets. Current assets stood at ₦6.624 billion.
Against this, the Association reported total liabilities of ₦945.890 million.
That left members’ funds at approximately ₦8.984 billion, compared with ₦6.878 billion at the end of 2025.
On paper, that is a substantial strengthening of the Association’s financial position.
But there are obligations behind the figures.
The accounts disclose ₦767.863 million in current liabilities and accounts payable. Among them is ₦397.794 million for the renewal of the lease of NBA House in Lagos and ₦134.575 million in outstanding Annual General Conference liabilities.
The AGC liabilities include ₦130.575 million relating to construction and maintenance of marquees for the 2022 conference, as well as smaller outstanding sums dating back to the 2018 conference.
There are also ₦72.624 million in withholding tax liabilities, ₦70.802 million payable to the NBA Abuja Branch, ₦32.229 million relating to information technology and ₦11 million in outstanding professional audit expenses.
These obligations do not undermine the reported surplus.
They simply provide the other half of the financial picture.
A healthier NBA — but with questions for the next administration
The outgoing administration of Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has made financial management one of the areas in which it believes its stewardship should be judged.
The accounts provide evidence of a stronger financial position.
But they also create a new responsibility for the leadership that takes over.
A professional association with billions in reserves must be able to explain not only how it accumulated the money, but what it intends to do with it.
Should more be invested in permanent infrastructure?
Should branches receive greater financial support?
Should members benefit through improved services and technology?
Should the NBA strengthen its professional development programmes, legal aid, welfare schemes and continuing legal education?
Or should the Association continue to build reserves against future obligations?
These are no longer hypothetical questions.
The financial figures have changed the scale of the conversation.
The real test begins after the applause
There is an irony in the timing of the report.
The accounts are being presented at the very conference whose organisation has itself generated considerable debate among members, including criticism of facilities, logistics and conference expenditure.
That makes financial transparency particularly important.
The NBA is not a private company whose shareholders can simply accept a balance sheet at face value. It is a professional association funded substantially by lawyers through practising fees, conference payments, licences and other professional charges.
Its members therefore have a legitimate interest in knowing where the money comes from, where it goes and what value comes back to them.
The half-year accounts provide a considerable amount of that information.
They show an NBA with ₦6.522 billion in bank balances, ₦4.154 billion in fixed deposits, ₦9.930 billion in total assets and nearly ₦8.984 billion in members’ funds. They also show significant liabilities and money already committed to particular purposes.
There is even a tiny accounting discrepancy worth noting: the statement of financial position puts the June 30 cash balance at ₦6,522,005,000, while the cash-flow statement records ₦6,522,004,000 — a difference of just ₦1,000.
It is immaterial financially, but the fact that it is disclosed is itself a reminder of what financial reporting is supposed to achieve: giving members enough information to ask questions.
And there are questions to ask.
The biggest is whether the ₦2.106 billion surplus represents the beginning of a new era of disciplined financial management or simply an exceptionally strong six months.
The next administration will have the opportunity — and the burden — of answering that.
For now, the NBA can legitimately point to a much stronger balance sheet.
But the real measure of financial health will not be how much money is sitting in the bank.
It will be what the Association does with it.
