NBA urges incoming govt to prioritise reforms to restore the nation

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has challenged the incoming administration of Sen. Bola Tinubu to introduce necessary reforms that would bring about a new Nigeria as well as restore the country’s lost glory.

The President of the association, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, made the call on Monday in Abuja when he led members of the association’s Annual General Conference Planning Committee (AGCPC) to unveil the logo and theme of the 63rd Annual General Conference of the association.

Maikyau said that the theme for the 2023 conference is: Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation Building and added that Nigeria, blessed with immense natural and human resources could continue to be deficient in terms of development.

He said that it was the responsibility of lawyers to provide direction and leadership in the country for it to recover its lost glory.

The NBA president said that the situation in the country called for lawyers to take a holistic look at events and evolve concrete solutions to addressing the challenges in the country.

Yakubu wondered why Nigerian professionals excelled outside the shores of the country but were faced with many challenges when in the country.

“Something is definitely wrong somewhere, if not why is it that outside the shores of this country, Nigerians excel in whatever they are doing but the story is different within the country.

“It means there is something we are not doing right and this is why the NBA conference will take a holistic look at all sectors in the country with a view to proffering workable solutions.

”The NBA must take the lead in providing leadership and direction to the country so that we can get it right.

“We are prepared to take the bull by the horns, we are going to call government into account.”

According to him, we have started engaging government already with the state of the nation program we held where we also engaged presidential candidates in the just concluded general elections.

He said that channels of communication were already being established to put forward resolutions and recommendations on how to move the country forward with the incoming administration.

Maikyau said that the fees for the conference which would touch on every area, were subsidised to ensure that no lawyer or any person willing to participate was left out on the grounds of cost.

He said the unveiling of the the logo and registration portal marked the beginning of registration for the NBA 2023 Annual General Conference.

For his part, the Chairman of the AGCPC, Mr Afam Osigwe, SAN, said that the conference would be a life changing one not only for participants but for the nation as a whole.

He said that one of the issues taken into consideration for the 2023 conference was the issue of lawyers with disabilities.

Osigwe reiterated that the committee took into consideration the economic crunch in the country to reduce the fees for the conference to ensure that no lawyer was left out.

He said that besides the serious business, there would also be room for unwinding with fun activities to make the conference an all-round one.

Our correspondentbreports that the conference would hold from Aug.25 to Sept.1 at the M.K.O Abiola Stadium in Abuja.