By Prof. Babafemi A. Badejo
A host of learned friends, including JS Okutepa, SAN and Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, SAN, are on all fours to the effect that the purported suspension of Joyce Oduah as NBA General Secretary has failed on its own. It did not receive the required ratification of the NBA NEC as set out in the following extract from the resolution of the Exco on the issue:
“5. In the meantime, however, in view of the critical importance of the Annual General Meeting which is scheduled to hold on 25th August 2022, and to prevent the General Secretary, Mrs Joyce Oduah from imperiling the Annual General Meeting, the Annual General Conference or the succession to the next administration by her unilateral and unauthorised communications purporting to be legitimate communications from the Association, the National Executive Committee has unanimously exercised its emergency powers under section 9(6) (d) of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2021) to suspend Mrs Joyce Oduah from office as the General Secretary of the Association with immediate effect pending the Pre-Conference meeting of the NBA-NEC scheduled to hold on Sunday 21st August 2022”.
The Emergency power of the Exco on the “suspension” of the General Secretary ended when the NEC met on August 21, 2022. The NEC purportedly and wrongly issued the ratification the EXCO wanted rather than refuse to act on a case in court. The Federal High Court nullified the purported NEC ratification.
The NBA has a motto: PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW. The NBA EXCO, however, is alleged to be evading service. The NBA NEC ignored a case being in court and passed resolutions that got nullified by the Federal High Court. Rather than get out of the avoidable hole, recognise that the Exco claim of suspension of the General Secretary had failed since a required NEC ratification has failed, thereby ensuring that the NBA is not further trashed before Nigerians, the NBA EXCO and its social media influencers appear to be engaging on all sorts of sophistry.
Meanwhile, the NBA motto before the country at large, is gradually changing to: TRASHING THE RULE OF LAW.