New NBA Struggle Started Years Ago -Convener

–Insists Group’ll Make NBA Sit Up
-Welcomes Invitation For Talks

The leadership of the New Nigerian Bar Association has said that the formation of the group is a continuation of struggles started by some lawyers who are now late.

According to the New NBA, it is providing a better platform that captures the interest of legal practitioners across the Federation.

The Convener(1) of the New NBA, Nuhu Ibrahim, disclosed this on Wednesday, in an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER.

Recall that the New NBA had on August 28, written to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, regarding its decision to form the group.

“We are pleased to inform you of the formation of a new Association of Lawyers as above captioned.

“The formation of the new Association has become imperative and expedient especially flowing from the activities, disposition and most recently, the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association NEC, which apparently failed to take into consideration our national interests and particularly do not promote the unity of our indissoluble country, Nigeria,” it stated.

Ibrahim told our correspondent that the NBA had been allegedly serving the interest of a selected few, a reason that had necessitated the birth of the new body.

“We believe that with the alternative, the NBA will become more serious and the clique that has hijacked its affairs will definitely come back to their senses and do the needful for their members.

“The struggle started long ago…some of the people that started it are no longer alive; we are going to continue this struggle with the hope that ultimately we can have an alternative that will make the legal profession better off and even make lawyers who want to remain in the NBA to benefit more and more from the NBA,” he said.

THE WHISTLER had reported that the Paul Usoro-led NBA had withdrawn an invitation it earlier sent to the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, to speak at its Annual General Conference.

The NBA gave the security situation in Southern Kaduna and the frequent loss of lives in the area as the reason for its action.

The association took the decision after many lawyers reportedly threatened to boycott the conference if el-Rufai was allowed to speak.

However, some lawyers, particularly of northern extraction, frowned on NBA’s decision.

Days later, the New NBA was formed.

The President of the NBA, Olumide Akpata, in a tweet on August 30, noted that the bar had been divided along ethno-religious lines.

But, he pleaded that legal practitioners should unite under the new leadership, as they moved the association forward.

“I plead with all Nigerians lawyers to bear this sense of unity in mind as we commence a new journey,” he tweeted.

But, Ibrahim stressed that Akpata was not the target of the association.

He added that if the New NBA received a formal request from him, it would consider it.

“In any case, if we receive any formal request from him, we will listen.

“I can assure you that anybody that wants to talk to us, we are open; we will listen and then put whatever he is going to offer into consideration,” he said.

He added, “But the struggle is not about Olumide Akpata or any other personality, it’s purely a struggle of like minds who feel there must be an alternative to the NBA.

“Lawyers should have an alternative platform where they always fall back on when they think that their interests are threatened or anything of such.

“Whenever there is an alternative, there is bound to be competition and competition will give rise to better performance from both competitors.”