By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro
Presidential candidates of the Nigerian Bar Association in its forthcoming elections have outlined their plans, visions and strategies aimed at enhancing the status of in-house counsel and lawyers in general while securing the association’s future.They spoke on Wednesday via a communique from a virtual meeting organised by Kaizen Academy Ltd to enable in-house counsel to know the candidates better toward the forthcoming NBA elections scheduled for 20th July 20.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NBA is an association of over 140,000 lawyers in the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.The Partner at Law Crest LLP, Mr Tobenna Erojikwe, said that his manifesto hinged on driving the essence, ideology and personality of Nigerian lawyers.Erojikwe said that, if elected, his two-year tenure would focus on protecting the integrity of the law profession and ensuring lawyers’ adherence to the rule of law.He also pledged to remove restrictions for in-house counsel desiring to contest for NBA offices.“Secondly, we will robustly go to the governance and administrative structures of the NBA, which I think are very dysfunctional, and revisit the outdated LPA.The NBA is an organisation that, if well-packaged and has the right reputation, can drive things,” he said.He also pledged to enhance the empowerment of lawyers and widen their scopes of operation to shore up their contributions to Nigeria’s gross domestic product.Erojikwe said that in-house counsel would have a place on the table, with every major structural organ of the NBA having an in-house counsel appointed to it.“I speak as somebody who has worked both in the private and public sectors in England and Nigeria.I know that what most in-house counsel require from the NBA is a voice and access,” he said.The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Senior Partner at Law Forte, Mazi Afam Osigwe, said it was important to engage more with in-house counsel to know their expectations and give them more sense of belonging.Osigwe said that, if elected, his tenure would critically address the working conditions of the judiciary, work toward expanding the base and increasing the number of judges while advocating increased funding for the judiciary.He called for a judicial system that would completely remove the human element in the process of case filing, management and allocation.Osigwe said that his previous position as the Head of the NBA, Lagos Branch, gave him huge experience in leadership which he would deploy if elected NBA president.“For me, leadership is about competence, vision, right values and also about managing complex relationships which I did at the Lagos branch, and it put me in a very good position to make a good president.The SAN and Partner at ALN Nigeria, Mr Chukwuka Ikwuazom, said there was a need to elect an NBA president, a person with proven leadership ability, who would harness resources within the association to set the legal profession on the right trajectory.Ikwuazom emphasised the importance of addressing corruption in the legal space and restoring the integrity of the profession.He pledged support for the legal professional regulation bill that contained a proposal for legal practitioners’ privileges committees.He also gave support for the recognition of distinguished general counsels who achieved success in the profession.According to him, the NBA will make a proposal to institute a system of recognition for its colleagues who do not go to court and for that reason cannot become senior advocates.“I want to be very clear that I am not opposed to a system that recognises professional excellence but I think it should be done in a way that respects everybody, recognising that people have different skills and different areas of expertise in the profession.“When you look at my manifesto, you see that one of the priority areas I have identified in my manifesto is that the NBA, under my leadership, will focus on justice sector reform.The NBA under my leadership will push for enactment of the administration of the civil justice bill to address the dysfunctionality in the court system,” Ikwuazom added.
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