NBA Assistant General Secretary Responds to NBA President’s Allegations

Daniel Kip, Assistant General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has strongly denied allegations of financial misconduct leveled against national officers. In a detailed response to the NBA’s Calabar Branch, Kip maintained his integrity and commitment to transparent service.

The allegations, which were presented during the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the NBA, accused national officers, including Mr. Kip, of seeking to misappropriate NBA funds, sharing funds donated for the Kebbi National Executive Council Meeting, requesting sponsorship for the International Bar Association Conference (IBA), and incurring excessive expenses during their stay in Abuja.

Mr. Kip’s response was directed to the Chairman and Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Calabar Branch, Nsikak Ikpeme, Esq., and Terem Inyambe, Esq., respectively

RE: ALLEGATIONS OF FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY

Your Letter on the above subject, dated 5th September, 2023, was received by me in the later hours of 7th September, 2023.

I thank the Branch for affording me the opportunity to be heard as I do agree with your concern as expressed in your letter that “As a National Officer, who is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Calabar Branch (the Doyen Bar), it is our earnest opinion that these allegations, if true, reflect poorly on the Doyen Bar as you are, amongst other things, a product of the Doyen Bar.”

It will interest the Branch to know that I had on the 5th of September, 2023, delivered to the NBA President, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN, my written reaction to the general allegations made by Mr. President against National Officers on the floor of the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association which held on the 31st of August, 2023. Please find attached, the said Letter dated September 4, 2023.

Permit me to exercise the liberty of reproducing verbatim, and adopting the said reactions contained in my Letter of September 4, 2023, as my response to your Letter, to wit:

“ 1. National officers are more interested in squandering the funds of the NBA generated from Bar Practicing Fee (BPF), and your refusal to accede to that has earned you the resentment.

Dear President, I ran my campaign for the office of Assistant General Secretary of the NBA solely by the grace of God as I had no money saved up anywhere to undertake the cause. So for me, it was not an investment for which I was expecting financial returns. In fact, I knew nothing about the benefits that accrue to being a national officer or any entitlement whatsoever, before running for office. I only got to know that national officers are paid per diem and could be sponsored for certain Bar events outside the Annual General Conference of the NBA when I got into office.

Mr. President, my running for national office and being a national officer has never been driven by financial gains. All I have done so far is to serve the NBA and her members to the best of my ability and capacity. I have also endeavoured to discharge responsibilities assigned to me and assist fellow national offices in their duties when they need my assistance. Mr. President, I have never requested of you or put forward a disposition of wanting to squander the funds of the NBA.

2. National officers passed a resolution in your absence to share the N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) being proceeds from donations for the Kebbi National Executive Council Meeting;

Mr. President, it is indeed unfortunate that this issue came up in the manner it did and was portrayed in the manner it was. I recall you briefed national officers about this donation in our national executive committee meeting of 27th April, 2023. In that meeting you had said you received the said sum in dollars and that it was about 50 million in naira equivalence. You further indicated that you were trying to make up your mind on what to do with the money. I never had any communication with you or with any other person regarding this sum until the national executive committee meeting of 15th August, 2023, when it came up as a matter arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting, and Mr. President informed national officers that the money has been paid into one of the NBA Accounts. With respect Mr. President, there was no point where the national officers or myself reached a resolution at that Meeting that the N40 Million be shared amongst national officers. It would have been preferable approach if Mr. President had fairly called out those who had met you to share the said money. I prepare the Minutes of National Executive Committee of the NBA and I can give a near accurate account of deliberations and resolutions, as I ensure I capture everything said as much as possible and Mr. President is aware of this.

3. National officers sent you text messages requesting to be sponsored to the International Bar Association Conference (IBA), which has a cost implication of over N70,000,000.00 (Seventy Million Naira).

4. Expenditure for national officers from October, 2022 to August, 2023 is over N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira).

Mr. President with respect, I have never sent you a message by any means whatsoever, requesting to be sponsored for the forthcoming IBA Conference. Mr. President knows that I am not the type to hover around the President for favours or always put myself out there. I can count the number of times I have spoken with you on phone and yet I have enjoyed a good working relationship with you. Mr. President will agree that the only times I send you messages on WhatsApp, have been when I want to bring a crucial Bar issue to your attention, put forward an idea or make suggestion, and when I am providing information, data or particulars requested by you.

Mr. President will also agree that even when I was sponsored to Goa, India, for the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Conference, it was out of your magnanimity and by sheer providence. I never sent a message requesting to be so sponsored. Indeed Mr. President had confirmed that the Welfare Secretary was penned down to be sponsored and when she informed that her International Passport wasn’t valid, I was contacted. Mr. President if the opportunity to grow capacity, network and professionally presents itself, I will be happy to accept it. But not at the grave expense of the Association, and I will never insist or hold grudges against you for not sponsoring me.

Mr. President, I humbly posit that the fact that records at your disposal show that over N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) has been spent on national officers for a period is not one that should have been used against all national officers in a blanket fashion. Mr. President should have clearly stated how much was spent on each National Officer and for what purpose. That way, members can ascertain and decipher whether or not such identified expenses were justified and the specific national officers who are unnecessarily depleting the funds of the NBA, if any. While I have not seen this record, the blanket impression created by its production and usage is not fair to me.

5. National Officers insist on staying in Abuja for unnecessarily long durations thereby incurring significant expenses in Hotel Bills and N30,000.00 per diem.

Mr. President, I am and have been in active legal practice all through my years as a Lawyer. I do not enjoy leaving my station to Abuja for extended periods or days, as the attendant consequence of this is that my practice will suffer. The past 1 year in office has come with grave consequences to my practice and my employment. This is however, not a complaint, as I chose to serve and I do it gladly. I decided to run for national office and I do not regret the decision. Mr. President, I have stated this preamble to drive home the fact that I do not fall amongst those who will prefer to stay in Abuja, doing nothing, and for unofficial and unnecessary reasons, just in a bid to be paid per diem. I have never done it. My being out of my work space is a sacrifice. I have had to lose money and clients while being neck deep performing my duty as Assistant General Secretary. The per diem of N30,000.00 is not even enough to cover the loss. What drives me is the passion to serve and the fulfilment derived from being part of a team providing & proffering value, results, solutions and succor to members of the Legal Profession.

Mr. President will recall that due to your decision not to approve payment of the Memo which reflected that some officers may have stayed a bit longer in Abuja, I had appealed to you on the 5th of June, 2023, to jettison the per diem and refund the flight fare. This was because from the last week of January, 2023 to the last week of April, 2023, all the trips I embarked upon as a national officer were paid by me as out-of-pocket expenses. This goes to show that my focus or interest does not lie in being paid per diem. I say no more.”

The above were my reactions to the general allegations made by the President, and I hope they answer all the questions arising from that unfortunate event. I trust that the President will in consideration of my Letter, take steps to clear the air and formally sever me from the allegations.

Thank you.

Yours in service,

DANIEL K. KIP

Assistant General Secretary

Nigerian Bar Association