BOSAN SETS UP ELECTION AUDIT COMMITTEE PARALLEL TO NBA PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE, SEEKS TO AMEND LPA
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria met yesterday, Friday 5th September. As part of the activities for the meeting, the Body was putting together a draft of a new Bill to repeal the current Legal Practitioners Act.
At the meeting, the Body also set up a committee to audit the 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections. Recently, at this inaugural address, the President of the NBA, Olumide Akpata, had stated that the NBA was setting up a committee to audit the elections of 2016, 2018 and 2020, with a view to coming up with solutions to all the loopholes that befell those elections and designing a foolproof framework for elections in the NBA in the future.
Despite sentiments at the meeting from some members of the Body that a parallel group should not be formed, but support be given to the NBA’s efforts at the auditing process, certain influential members were intent on going ahead with the parallel committee.
A five-man committee was set up for the audit process. The committee was made up of Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN; Ètigwe Uwa, SAN and Osaro Eghobamien, amongst others.
Lawyers have expressed concern over this act of BOSAN in setting up a parallel committee for the audit process, particularly in the light of the viral letter addressed by Chief Awomolo, SAN to BOSAN members in the heat of the 2020 elections. It may be recalled that Chief Adeboyega Awomolo, SAN had in June written to BOSAN, stating strongly that certain positions in the NBA were the preserve of SANs. The letter resulted in various lashbacks from younger lawyers and even fellow SANs.
Lawyers are also concerned that there may be foul play in both the setting up of the parallel audit committee and the spearheading of the LPA amendment.
