Courtroom Mail has obtained the statement of Dr Ajibade disassociating himself from the position of Awomolo SAN suggesting that Senior Advocates of Nigeria should be the only ones to head the Nigerian Bar Association. In his statement Dr Ajibade made reference to the fact that one of the most popular and effective Presidents the NBA has had is Late Alao Aka-Basorun who wasn’t a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
His statement is as follows:
My attention has been drawn to a statement made by Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN in which he suggests that the office of President of the Nigerian Bar Association is the exclusive preserve of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).
I respectfully disagree with this position. There is nothing contained in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Constitution or in the history of the NBA to support this assertion.
There is near unanimous agreement that one of the most popular and effective Presidents the NBA has had is Late Alao Aka-Basorun and the NBA has had other non-SAN Presidents since.
The focus should be on the character, capacity and antecedents of persons who aspire to lead our profession and not on their title or rank.
There are serious challenges facing the profession at this time and we need to unite the profession in order to effectively address them.
