The Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association last week presented an award to NBA presidential aspirant Augustine Alegeh, SAN for his contributions to the branch and the growth of the association.
Receiving the award in Benin, Edo State, Alegeh expressed gratitude at the gesture, thanking the branch for counting his efforts worthy of such a recognition.
“I am very grateful that my own local branch deems it fit to recognise me and my modest contributions to the branch. It is a thing of joy and I also take it as a challenge to pay back. The profession is what we live from and not always what we gain out of it so that any development will be for our collective benefit.”
Addressing Press men at the event, Alegeh also spoke of his ambition to lead the bar.
“All I intend to do is put myself forward, present my programmes to members of the association and let them decide. As you know, the choice lies with the people. However, I know that the programmes I offer to the Bar at this time are contemporary. They meet the aspirations of majority of the lawyers and from the brief we have seen so far, I am assured that they will elect me as their president, he stated.”
The Learned silk and current Chairman of the NBA Data Verification Committee also spoke about his Agenda for the association.
“If elected, I do have a three point agenda to execute. The first will focus on the welfare of lawyers. If lawyers are well paid, they will be in the position to make their submissions better. They will be proponents of the rule of law wherever they are. On the other hand, if their welfare is neglected, it will be difficult for this same people to fight for the rights of others,” he said.
“There is a law that says all legal documents to the court must be made by lawyers, but just opposite the courts, you’ll find people who are not lawyers drafting these agreement and swearing affidavits.
“If we fight for the law to be enforced, then these acts will have to stop. It will be difficult for people to sell fake and fictitious properties to unsuspecting individuals.
“We are fighting not just for the welfare of lawyers, but also for the protection of the rights of the people from quacks”.
Alegeh spoke further on his plan to introduce an insurance policy for lawyers – One in which a percentage of the legal fees paid by lawyers would be used for an insurance policy, with a variety of options made available to each lawyer.
“If in the cause of a peculiar situation he/she does not want a particular insurance policy, he/she can take another type; if because for religious reasons or obligations, a lawyer chooses not to have a life insurance, he/she can decide on an educational endowment for his/her children. You can take retirement policy for yourself not necessarily preparing for death, but you can always prepare for life. So if elected, these are some of the issues I hope to address in order to cater more to the welfare of Nigerian lawyers,” he explained.
Echoing the position of majority of the bar, he reiterated the need for a reform in voting system adopted by the NBA. “We have a lot of anomalies in our voting system. Come July, all of us will travel to Abuja to elect a new national executive for our association. Why do we need to do that when you can vote from your computer? We must strive to introduce electronic voting in order to avoid the risks associated with traveling; such as death, accident, permanent incapacitation and all of that,” he concluded.
The NBA Presidential aspirant was also given the opportunity to present an award to the Oba of Benin in palace on behalf of the Benin Branch of the NBA.
JUDITH AMARACHI UGOH
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