The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Rivers State Chapter has condemned moves by some Northern lawyers to form a pararell national body for Lawyers as a result of the withdrawal of the invite sent to Governor Nasir El-Rufai to speak at its conference.
Chairman of the NBA in Port Harcourt, Prince Nyekwere in an interview with journalists said such efforts by the lawyers to form a pararell NBA will amount to an exercise in futility.
He said the NBA is a stautory association backed by law as such enjoys unique privileges and recognition, stressing that a new NBA can only emerge when the law establishing the existing one has been amended.
"For instance, the Council of Legal Education, you have a representative of the NBA there. The National Judicial Council (NJC), you have someone representing NBA also and several others. They are there by virtue of the legal practitioners that recognizes NBA. As the law stands today, they are wasting their time.
"They are entitled to form an association. But if what they have in mind is an association that will have the sort of statutory recognition NBA enjoys, then they are wasting their time," Nyekwere said.
He advised the aggrieved lawyers to engage the new national executive of the body in a round table discussion to address their reservations.
The Rivers NBA Chairman said it is unhealthy for the lawyers to drag ethnic and religious sentiments into a body as the NBA.
"I know there are issues in NBA. But to the best of my knowledge, I think the problem we are having now is as a result of the dis-invite of El-Rufai. As long as I am concerned, those who are against his dis-invite seem not to understand how NBA operates. In short, that is the unfortunate thing. We have not been able to grow above tribal and religious sentiments in our national life," he said.
