Crisis appears to be looming in the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Owerri Branch as a branch member, Mr. C.A.N Osondu writes the national body over the violation of the provisions of the Uniform Bye Law in the setting up of the branch Election Committee.

In a letter addressed to the General secretary, Mr. Jonathan Taidi, Mr. Osondu stated that the branch executive committee purportedly set up the Executive Committee instead of the General meeting.

According to the letter made available to BarristerNG, Article 10(3) of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law for Branches vests such power on the General meeting and not the Executive Committee.

Below is a copy of the petition sent to the national body of the Association.

VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE NBA UNIFORM BYE-LAW IN THE PURPORTED ESTABLISMENT OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE IN NBA OWERRI BRANCH: A CALL FOR CAUTION AND URGENT INTERVENTION

The above caption refers.

I write in my capacity as a concerned and financial member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri Branch.

As a prelude to the 2020 branch election, the Chairman D.O. Nosike, Esq., on the … May, 2020, in a statement posted on the branch’s Whatsapp platform relying on Articles 10(3) and 17 of the Uniform Bye-Law for branches informed members that due to the lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), that has affected the holding of branch meeting, that the executive committee of the branch met and set up the Election Committee. A copy of the Whatsapp statemet is hereby annexed. This exercise of power by the Branch’s Election Committee as stated in the Chairman’s statemet is ultra vires and a fundamental constitutional infraction which vests the power to establish the Election Committee on the General Meeting of the Branch and not the Branch’s Executive Committee.

I have paintakingly read the relevant provisions of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law relied on by the Chairman in purporting to constitute the Election Committee and cannot find any support for such exercise of power.

For the avoidance of doubt, Articles 10 sub 3 of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law for branches is hereby reproduced thus:

“The following standing Committees (“Committee”) shall be established for the branch by the General Meeting:

Election Committee

Shall be composed of five members;
Shall make arrangement for elction of officersof the branch in the month of June as the Executive Committee may determineand shall, inter alia , undertake due publicity for the elctions and nominatios thereto, the printing of ballot papers and the compilation of the list of eligible candidates and voters”.
I have equally read article 17 of the Uniform Bye-Law and did not see anywhere the Executive Committee of the branch derived the power to establish the Election Committee.

This has attracted reactions from members expresssing their dissatisfaction on the Statement issued by the Chairman, as members were never consulted neither were members informed of any arrangement to set up the Election Committee of the Branch, which further puts a serious issue on whether the Committee will be neutral and fair in the conduct of the elections.

The reliance on the lockdown to divest the constitutional power duly vested in the General meeting of the branch is not cogent and tenable as branches have been holding virtual or remote meetings via Whatsapp, Skype, Zoom, Telegram etc. Nnewi and Sagbama are a few examples of NBA branches that held their branch meeting during this lockdown. Court proceedings are being done remotely as Borno and Lagos Judiciary have keyed into it and more recently the recommendation of the NJC Committee recommendation the adoption of remote hearing.

This urgent call for intervention becomes imminent as we foresee a situation where the branch will be plunged into needless and avoidable crisis, due to the flagrant constitutional infraction including litigations, hence the need to utilise this effective internal mechanism to redress this anomaly and to also urge you to use your good offices to call the branch executive to order and to exercise your supervisory role during the forthcoming election of the branch to ensure there is fairness and impartiality on the part of the Election Committee when properly constituted.

The motto of the NBA is “promoting the rule of law” hence the need to practice what we preach.

As the lord denning (Master of Rolls)in the case of U.A.C V. Mcfoy (1962) AC 158 held that “you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand”.

The NBA cannot afford to have additional branch crisis to the ones the current leadership is trying to resolve.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Thank you in anticipation of your urgent consideration and accept my assurances of the highest professional regards.

Yours faithfully,

C.A.N Osondu, Esq.

Source :BARRISTERNG