RE: Setting The Record Straight- Mandy Asagba Reacts To NBA President’s Allegation, Calls For Independent Audit

I have read the press release of the 3rd Vice President of the NBA in rebuttal of the statement made by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association Y. C . Maikyau,CON,SAN during the Annual General Conference of the Association held on the 31st August 2023.Ordinarily,I would not have reacted but for the constitutional issues raised by the 3rd Vice President.

I noticed that the genesis of the problem was the improper understanding of the cited provisions of the NBA Constitution. In this wise, I will list the complaints raised by the 3rd Vice President in rebuttal as follows;

1. The President usurpation of the powers and functions of the office of the 3rd Vice President and other National Officers.

2. The President refusal to approve the payment of expenses she made in undergoing familiarization tour of the Branches of the Association assigned to her by the President.

3. That the aides of the President select the Executive Officers to add to Committees and Boards and who goes on foreign trips and courtesy visits and even conferences and assignments with the President.

There are other issues raised in the rebuttal. Those I will discuss in Part two of this article.

I will take numbers one and two together as they are related. First, is the President usurpation of the power of the office of the 3rd Vice President and the second is his refusal to refund the expenses she incurred on the familiarization tour of Branches assigned to her.

To resolve this,it is appropriate to check the functions and powers of the 3rd Vice President as contained in Section 9(5) (d) of the 2015 NBA Constitution (as amended). It provides as follows;

“The 3rd Vice President

i. Shall in the absence of the President,1st Vice President and 2nd Vice President preside at all meetings in which the President is empowered to preside by the provision of this constitution,

i i. Shall be responsible for the coordination or the activities of the group of branches as may be assigned to him/her by the National Executive Council or the National Executive Committee or the President and shall pay visits as necessary and/or required to the branches so assigned to her and shall make periodic reports to the National Executive Council or the National Executive Committee on such visits,

iii. Shall encourage and supervise the formation of new branches within his/her zonal supervisory jurisdiction in line with the guidelines set out in this constitution,

iii. Shall perform all other duties as he/she may be directed by the President or the National Executive Council or the National Executive Committee or the Annual General Meeting….”

Though the 3rd Vice President did not specify her duty that the President is usurping,I can safely say that it is the duties stipulated in Section 9(d)(ii) of the Constitution. I reached this conclusion because it is impossible for the President to usurp the duties of the 3rd Vice President as contained in Section 9 (d)(i) as she can only perform that duty in the absence of the President,1st Vice President and 2nd Vice President.

The 3rd Vice President did not complain that the President is hindering her from supervising the formation of new branches in her area of jurisdiction.

Lastly the President could not have usurped Section 9 (d)(iv) because that can only be activated if any duty is assigned to her by the President,NEC or National Executive Committee. The provision did not say that the President, National Executive Council, National Executive Committee must assign duties to the 3rd Vice President. It used the phrase ‘ as may be..’. It is therefore within the discretionary powers of the President, Nation Executive Council and National Executive Committee to do so.

So let me concentrate on the provisions of Section 9(d)(ii) of the NBA Constitution (supra).

The 3rd Vice President stated that the President usurped her duty when he refused to approve of her embarking on familiarization tour of Branches assigned to her with NBA fund. This assertion was anchored on the erroneous view that the power is absolute. That it lies in her discretion to choose how and when to exercise it without the intervention of the President.

With due respect to the 3rd Vice President,her interpretation of this Section is incorrect. She would have known better if she had directed her attention to the duties assigned to the President in Section 9(a)(iii) of the NBA Constitution (supra). That paragraph provided that the duties of the President shall include;

“directing all other officers of the Association in the performance of their duties and coordinating the activities of all the branches of the Association”.

A community reading of Section 9 of the NBA Constitution will show that the duties assigned to the 3rd Vice President and other officers of the Association should be performed as directed by the President and not otherwise.

The President did not stop her from supervising the branches of the Association assigned to her. She admitted that the President instructed her that she can visit branches only when there are crisis with the Association fund. This is a lawful directive issued by the President. It cannot amount to the usurpation of her office. It is appropriate to note that the Constitution stated that such visits will be done when necessary and/or required”. It is proper to assume that the President issued his directive with this clause in mind.

Another direction issued by the President as admitted by the 3rd Vice President is that she is free to embark on such familiarization tour with her personal fund if she so desires.

This directive the 3rd Vice President accepted by continuing the familiarization tour with her personal fund.

It will therefore be absurd for her to demand for the refund of the money spent by her for the performance of the self directed assignment she imposed on herself or use that as an excuse to accuse the President of usurping her duties.

I remember vividly that this issue of using the Association fund for familiarization tour by the 3rd Vice President was extensively discussed at the NEC Meeting held in Kebbi when it was brought to the attention of the NEC by the President after the 3rd Vice President presented her report. The President requested that the National Executive Council should direct him whether to pay or not. The NEC in Session passed a resolution that the fund of the Association should not be used for such tour.

For the 3rd Vice President to use derogatory words in portraying distinguished members of NEC for passing this resolution is most regrettable. The Past Presidents, past National Secretaries, Chairmen and Secretaries of Branches are statutory members of NEC. They were not appointed by the President.

It amounted to insubordination to the lawful direction of the President and total lack of respect to the resolution passed by NEC for the 3rd Vice President to denigrate the person of the President of the NBA by continuing to accuse the President of usurping her duties because of his refusal to refund the expenses.

Aside that, I am perplexed that the 3rd Vice President should allow the issue of using the Association fund in embarking of familiarization tour to sow seed of discords between her and the President. The same directive affected not only her. Both the 1st and 2nd Vice President that have the same responsibility were also affected. Since it is a service deemed by her to be beneficial to the Association,I expect the 3rd Vice President to allow it to rest as the President, members of the National Executive Council and of recent the AGM of the Association have rejected such benefit. Unless there are other things behind such tour,I don’t see the need for the fuss it has generated and has continued to generate.

As it concerned the supervision of branches,I want the 3rd Vice President to note that the constitution also empowered the President to oversee the activities of all the branches of the Association including those under her jurisdiction. Since it will be cumbersome for the President to cover the over one hundred branches of the Association,it is within his discretion to assign his aides to do that and report back to him.

The use of the phrase “ass licking Officers” to describe some fellow Officers of NBA by the 3rd Vice President is most unfortunate. Such language should not exist in the Community of Lawyers!

On the issue of the President aides selecting officers that will be appointed to Committees and that will be sponsored for foreign trips, among other things,I wonder how the 3rd Vice President came to know this since she asserted that she was not consulted in the selection and appointments done by the President and that she becomes aware only when they are posted on the social media. In the absence of any verifiable direct evidence of the President aides performance of such duties, it is convenient to assume that she may be acting on divisive office gossip.

However I have never seen any appointment letter that was signed by any aide of the President. They always bear the signature of the President.

It is important for the 3rd Vice President to note that the NBA has Departments created by it’s Constitution. They are managed by it’s employees. It will be wrong to classify them as the President aides.

Again,there is nothing wrong for the President to have aides. It is his entitlement. The 3rd Vice President admitted that she went on the familiarization tour of Branches with her aides. If the 3rd Vice President who is the lowest in rank of the NBA Presidency can have aides that assist her in the performance of her duties,I wonder why she thinks that the President of the Association should not use his aides in the performance of his own duties.

In concluding part one of this article, I will urge the 3rd Vice President to sheath her blunt sword and embrace peace.

Godwin Madubuko Esq. is a private Legal Practitioner