Mr Olumide Akpata, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that about 10,000 lawyers have so far registered for the association’s 61st annual general conference scheduled to take place in Rivers State.
He said this at a media chat in Lagos on Thursday, held to announce the forthcoming conference. The conference is scheduled to take place at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, with the theme: “Taking the Lead” and will be held physically and virtually.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, some topics for discussion at the conference included Taking the Lead: A Conversation on Leadership and Followership; Reversing the Trend: A call for National Re-orientation; and The Levers for Economic Growth and Development.
What the NBA is saying
Akpata noted that it is commendable that the figures moved from 9,000 registrants on Thursday morning, to 10,000 by Thursday evening.
The annual conference is a yearly program usually held in the month of August. However, for 2021, it was pushed forward to October as a result of some conditions.
“We know the times are not normal; so, we have made the conference both physical and virtual. We are hopeful we will have good participation,” Akpata said.
He went on to say that the NBA made plans, putting into consideration lawyers living with disabilities. He said a forum has been set up to tackle the challenge to enable them participate effectively during the conference.
According to him, he is optimistic that soon the NBA will carve out a special session during the conference for legal practitioners living with disabilities.
Mr Akin Ajibola, Chairman of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning, assured association members that a Virtual Conference platform will be deployed that could deliver an in-person conference experience.
He admonished physical participants to comply with the COVID-19 prevention protocol and adhere to health and safety regulations during the period of the conference.
The Nigerian Bar Association is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to bar in Nigeria. The association promotes and protects human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria.
