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| Governor Okorocha (extreme left) and Gowon (extreme right) at the NBA conference in Owerri |
The 54th Annual General Conference
of the Nigerian Bar Association which began on Monday 25th August in
Owerri the Imo State capital comes to an end today with over 5,000 legal
practitioners in attendance.
The conference theme which is targeted at
x-raying the political history and development of Nigeria, Constitutional
reforms, Economic development, Educational development, Infrastructural issues
and Judicial reform also witnessed new Innovations in Information Technology (IT) which will enable
lawyers surf through the web and research on legal matters.
Speaking at the opening
ceremony of the conference held at the newly built Imo International Conference Center (IICC), a former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu
Gowon lauded the theme of
NBA’s Conference which was, “Nigeria, A Hundred Years After,” and observed that
“Nigeria is not yet 100 as an independent nation.”
He admitted that the nation was yet to achieve its potential as a
sovereign country and challenged participants
at the conference to discuss how to make Nigeria greater in the next 100 years.
Earlier, the Imo State Governor, Owelle
Rochas Okorocha said the nation could not grow until those with vision and
passion for development were allowed to assume leadership positions. He
challenged lawyers to provide direction for the country as people with great
training.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who was
represented on the occasion by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of
the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN) also explained the decision of his
administration to negotiate with the family of the former Head of State,
General Sani Abacha, over money looted by the late maximum ruler. Adoke said
the Federal Government’s option of negotiation for the recovery of Abacha loot
was not only transparent, but had also become a standard for the world to
adopt.
Also speaking, The Speaker of House of
Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal asked lawyers to lead efforts to save the
nation, saying poverty had worsened across the country.
He alleged that Nigerians were yet to be
given the opportunity to freely choose their leaders, insisting that elections
so far conducted under the current civilian government had not been different
from the style adopted by the military.
He called for credible elections as the
solution to Nigeria’s problem.
The occasion was used by the outgoing NBA
President, Okey Wali (SAN) to render the account of his two-year stewardship,
saying his administration had been able to advance the goals of the body.
Wali listed his administration’s
achievements to include infrastructure development and fighting for justice for
Nigerians.
Okey Wali said “the NBA annual general
conference continues to be the premier and veritable opportunity for lawyers
from around the world to meet and hear firsthand about current trends and legal
developments in various areas of practice.”
Speaking on the issue of Ebola virus, the NBA
said its branch in Owerri has secured the collaboration and services of
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Imo State Chapter to provide ambulances and
other medical equipment and personnel, education and enlightenment of members.
Example is to avoid shaking of hands and physical body contact. It also
stated that it would partner with FAAN and Aviation Ministry for Airport
screening on landing and surveillance at the Airports.
The statement by Wali reads in part. “We urge our members to
please maintain higher standard of hygiene. Note that Imo state is not one of
the states that have been flagged as location where potential victims have been
sited. Please further note that all the conference participants do not gather
at the same venue at the same time. They are usually spread out in different
sessions going on simultaneously.
Also
present at the occasion were the Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, Augustine
Alegeh (SAN) who was elected on Tuesday July 15, 2014 as the 27th President of
the Nigerian Bar Association and a host of others.
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| from L-R, Okey Wali and Augustine Alegeh |
