NBA 2022 Election: I Have Been A Member Of NBA-NEC At All Material Times — Maikyau, SAN Responds To Petition For His Disqualification

An aspirant for the presidency in the upcoming Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) elections, Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN responded to a petition by an Abuja-based lawyer that he (Maikyau) is “not constitutionally qualified to contest for the office of President in the forthcoming 2022 NBA National Officers’ election due to his failure to meet the eligibility criteria of not less than two years membership of NEC at the time of nomination mandatorily required under section 9(3)(c)(i) of the NBA Constitution.”

The petitioner, Mr. Tochukwu Ohazuruike, had also alleged that Maikyau “did not attend any of the 9 NEC meetings for the period 2018 to 2020.”

However, in response, Maikyau denied the allegations in a letter made available to The Lawyer dated 11th May, 2022. He denied not attending meetings and asserted that he never ceased to be a member of the NBA NEC. He attached the letter appointing him as NEC member in evidence.

He said, “The allegation that I didn’t attend the meetings of the 2018-2020 NEC is hereby denied. I also deny the allegation that my membership of that NEC ceased at any time before the end of that administration. The Petitioner, beyond citing the provisions of the NBA Constitution and alleging that I did not attend meetings, has failed to show that my membership of the 2018-2020 NEC ceased at any time before the 26th of August 2020.

“It should be noted that the Petitioner admitted my membership of the NEC for the period between 2018 to 2020, this being no less the action of any institution of the NBA than the NEC itself. Suffice to say that what has been admitted requires no further proof. Nonetheless, see my letter of appointment into the NEC dated 4th May, 2019 attached hereto, as Annexure 1.”

Maikyau made reference to the proviso to Section 7(7) of the NBA Constitution and described it as “noteworthy and germane to the resolution of this petition”. According to him, “It is clear from the language of the Constitution that the provision is NOT self-executing. Rather, the provision contemplates that a Member of NEC shall cease to be a member ONLY by or UPON a resolution of the National Executive Committee (now Council) to that effect.

“it is also clear from the language of the Constitution that, before such a resolution or decision is taken by NEC, terminating a person’s membership on the stated ground, there must first be a hearing and such a member must be given the opportunity to show reasonable cause for his absence to the satisfaction of the National Executive Committee.

“In the petition under reference, the Petitioner has neither shown that there was any resolution of the 2018-2020 NEC terminating my membership of the Committee for non-attendance at meetings, nor has he alleged that there was any such resolution. The Petitioner has also not shown that I did in fact cease to be a member of the NEC. None of the documents which accompanied the petition, show or contain any complaint regarding my alleged absence from any NEC meeting, any deliberation by NEC on such a complaint or any decision of NEC, terminating my membership thereof.”

The learned silk strenuously submits in his letter that the petition has the implication of terminating his membership of NBA NEC and such termination is ultra vires ECNBA.

“What the Petitioner has done or seeks to do, is to call on the ECNBA to do what the National Executive Committee of 2018-2020 would have done, were it to have received a complaint against me for alleged absenteeism and upon deliberation as stated above, taken a decision to terminate my NEC membership. By his petition, the Petitioner has not only called on the ECNBA to terminate my NEC membership but to do so with retrospective effect from 2019.

“With respect to the Petitioner, this honourable Committee cannot do so and ought not to allow any person to drag it into an arena beyond the precincts delineated for its assignment. May respectfully state for the sake of clarity that, the body that had the power to determine whether my membership of the NEC had ceased was the NEC as constituted in 2018-2020 led by President Paul Usoro, not the current National Executive Council and certainly not the ECNBA. A Petition to terminate my membership of NEC should have come during the subsistence of that NEC as led by Mr.Paul Usoro SAN. As stated earlier, no such complaint was made to it and no such decision was taken by that NEC.”

Maikyau reiterated the points that (i)the Petitioner has not shown that his membership of the 2018-2020 NEC ceased at any point before the 26th of August 2020; and (i)the Petitioner admits that he (Maikyau) was indeed co-opted into that NEC as a member thereof.

He therefore argued vehemently that the petitioner’s allegation that he ceased to be a NEC member for non-attendance “must be strictly proved by him and the way to do so is by presenting before the Committee a Resolution of that NEC, duly signed by the President and General Secretary, declaring that I ceased to be a member thereof. May I also reiterate that this ECNBA cannot go into a forensic audit of Attendance Registers and Minutes of Meetings of NEC to decide whether I was attending meetings or not and whether my membership thereof ought to be terminated. It also cannot take a decision to terminate my membership of the 2018-2020 NEC. That is the sole duty of that NEC and it is only the proceedings of that NEC terminating my membership that can form the basis of a petition such as this, I so submit.”

In conclusion, he called in the ECNBA “to disregard the Petition and the allegations contained therein as misguided and one predicated on a gross misunderstanding of the Constitution of the NBA.”