18 January 2019
NBA 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE –
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE FOR CONFERENCE PLANNING
- Sequel to the mandate given to me by the NBA National Executive Committee
(“NEC”) at its meeting held on 06 December 2018, I am pleased to constitute the
Technical Committee for Conference Planning (“TCCP” or “Committee”) for our 2019
Annual General Conference (“AGC”). The TCCP is made up of 42 eminent members
of our Association and is chaired by Gbenga Oyebode, MFR, the Chairman of the
Management Board of Aluko & Oyebode, one of Nigeria’s leading law firms, and a
past Chairman of our Section on Business Law (“SBL”). The list of the members has
been published as an adjunct to this Statement. 2. I thank all 42 members for accepting to serve on the Committee despite their
individual busy schedules. In particular, knowing first-hand how extremely
challenging Mr Oyebode’s schedule ordinarily is, I thank him specially for answering
this call to duty and for his unwavering and consistent commitment to our
Association. I know that he and his team will bring to bear on this AGC planning
assignment, their extensive and individual experiences in planning and hosting
previous conferences, including but not limited to AGC and SBL conferences.
3. With the publication of the TCCP membership composition, I have agreed with
Mr Oyebode that the Committee will commence its work immediately without any
ado; I expect him to summon the Committee’s inaugural meeting as soon as possible
and proceed therefrom. The Terms of Reference of the Committee, in broad terms,
is to organize the 2019 AGC and to carry out all such ancillary functions and duties
as may be assigned to or required of them for the successful hosting of the
Conference. The Committee would report directly to me and would, as required
obtain specific approvals from NEC for its assignments.
4. In my discussions with the Committee, I have impressed on them the
expectations of our members for the best and most memorable Conference in 2019,
both in terms of content and in being pocket-friendly vis-à-vis the conferees and the
Conference output. I have in that wise extracted the commitment of the Committee,
through its Chairman, that the 2019 AGC will live up to those billings. As National
Officers, we are mindful of the promises that we made to our members in my
Inaugural Address and we shall strive to keep and live by those promises in the
planning and hosting of the 2019 AGC.
5. The composition of this year’s AGC TCCP comes with some innovations and
exciting bonuses. First is the selflessness of all the Committee members. I spoke
with each of the 42 members and they all committed to serve on the Committee at
minimal, if any, cost to the National NBA purse as it relates in particular to their
transport and accommodation for Committee meetings. That is exemplary, and I
cannot thank them enough for this commitment and sacrifice.
6. Second, we have included a number of ex-officio members in the TCCP for
inclusiveness and information flow to branch members. Three Branch Chairmen
from each of the NBA Zones, totaling nine Branch Chairmen serve as ex-officio
members of the TCCP. We expect the Chairmen to assist in explaining the mechanics
of the AGC planning and the underlying considerations for decisions of the
Committee to all our colleagues in their various Zones.
7. The Chairmen of our three Sections – SBL, SLP and SPIDEL – are ex-officio
members of the TCCP as well and so is our own Anthony Atata, the IBA African
Forum Chairman. The President of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, Yusuf
Abdullahi Abdulkadir, has been appointed to the Committee as an ex-officio member
and as will the YLF President as soon as the Council of the Young Lawyers’ Forum
(“YLF”) is constituted. It remains to mention that we would be updating members
with the activities of the TCCP as we begin the countdown to the NBA 2019 AGC.
Paul Usoro, SAN
President
