By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja.
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (NEW) is not only a lawyer, he is a Life Bencher of the Body of Benchers (BoB) of Nigeria which is the highest regulatory organ of the legal profession in Nigeria.
On Friday 28th March 2025 he was honoured by the Chairman of the Body of Benchers (BoB) as a worthy ambassador of the Body of Benchers. A plaque was given to him to celebrate the occasion.
During that occasion, NEW made some statements about the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
In a nutshell, NEW stated the truth that the NBA over the years has become over-reliant upon funding and financial sponsorship from the State Governments for hosting of the NBA annual general conference. He stated that this is the reason why the NBA has condemned the suspension of the Rivers State Governor Fubara who previously promised to sponsor the proposed NBA annual general conference that was slated to hold in Port Harcourt in August 2025.
NEW went further to state that in accordance with the proverb, that he who pays the Piper dictates the tune, the NBA has become hypocritical and lost both its moral and ethical authority to speak on matters of national importance because it is compromised by its habit of receipt of financial sponsorship from Any Government in power (AGIP)!!!
Although, NEW can be faulted on his brand of politics devoid of emotions, morality and ethics, his statements about the NBA on this occasion were spot-on.
Unwittingly, his statements about the NBA, is a confirmation that it is now time for Nigerian lawyers to turn attention to the Nigerian Law Society (NLS).
In contrast to the NBA, since its establishment the Nigerian Law Society (NLS) in the year 2022, all its annual general conferences have been held without any form of financial sponsorship from any government (either the federal and State)!!!
This is an opportunity for Nigerian lawyers to experience the difference by attending the 2025 annual general conference of Nigerian Law Society (NLS) which is due to hold at Ibadan, Oyo State in July 2025.
Interested lawyers should contact the Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee, Abdulqadir Sani, Esq. He is also the Vice-President, North of the NLS. His WhatsApp number is +234 809 781 7756
