Caroline Ladidi Anze-Bishop, the national treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has accused Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, the association’s president, of circumventing her office and executing financial decisions for the association without her approval.

Anze-Bishop made this revelation at the NBA’s Annual General Conference (AGC) in Abuja on Thursday where she declined to present the financial reports because she was “unaware of the true financial position of the association”.

According to her, memos were not routed through her office but through the office of the secretary, with the president’s approval.

NBA National Treasurer Outing Yakubu Maikyau, NBA President at the 2023 AGC
“It will be incongruous of me to stand here and tell you that this is the financial position. It may be, but I do not know because I wasn’t involved, I wasn’t informed. It wasn’t put together by me and I will not disrespect you by standing here to give you unknown figures because I do not know the true financial position of this association,” the national treasurer said.

Anze-Bishop stated that she was not a member of the finance committee, the stabilisation fund committee or any committee that had to do with the finances of the NBA.

Furthermore, Anze-Bishop revealed how Maikyau, in an executive meeting held on August 15, told her that he did not need to consult or get the consent of her office to be able to run the financial affairs of the association.

She therefore noted that she was unfit to present the financial report of the association or sign any financial documents as she did not partake in its preparation.

Anze-Bishop’s announcement is the latest in a long line of controversies that Maikyau has been embroiled in.

 

(FIJ)