The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, has said that he will not allow any person or group of persons to stampede nor blackmail the NBA into compromising the Association’s internal mechanism put in place to verify claims before payments are made.
Maikyau stated this in a response to Chidi Anselm Odinkalu’s letter of resignation from the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, (ECNBA) which he hinged on the NBA’s alleged refusal to pay its indebtedness to service providers.
Recall that Odinkalu had in a resignation letter dated 10th July, 2023 cited integrity issues, NBA’s alleged indebtedness and refusal to pay service providers notwithstanding its solvency, and the several representations the ECNBA made to the Bar President, Mr Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, particularly with regard to the outstanding N5.4 million being owed the company which provided the voting platform (interface) in the 2022 bar elections, as part of the reason for his resignation.
The NBA president’s letter reads in part:
“…Your resignation will be duly communicated to the National Executive Council (NEC). In the meantime, I thank you for your selfless service to the Bar and wish you success and God’s blessings in all your endeavours.
Please note that the Nigerian Bar Association, which I am privileged to lead at this time and of which you are a member, remains a responsible organization and will always honour its financial and contractual obligations. I will however not allow any person or group of persons to stampede us or in any way blackmail us into compromising our internal mechanisms put in place for verifying claims or requests before payments are made. Our commonwealth which I hold in trust, will to the best of our ability be administered in the best interest of the association.”
Odinkalu’s remarks over the letter were however very crisp. “1 year after the election, the president of the NBA believes he is being ‘stampeded.’ He does not deny the contents of my letter of resignation.”
