The website of the Nigerian Bar Association is a critical tool and veritable resource for the association and its members.
A website is no longer just a repository of information, it can and should be utilized for much more by the NBA. The NBA has taken proactive steps by expanding the service offering available on its website and integrating a membership portal to give real value to members.
As we come to terms with a post Covid-19 world of virtual meetings and online transactions, we must challenge ourselves to do much more with our website.
Of equal priority is the need to have an updated directory of members of the NBA if we are to efficiently administer the affairs of the Association.
The current situation where a fresh voters’ list is compiled from scratch every two (2) years (seemingly jettisoning all previous details) is difficult to understand. If elected as General Secretary of the NBA, I propose to get the buy-in of the NBA President and National Officers to:
a) Strengthen the existing website of the Association and upgrade it into a larger, more encompassing and interactive virtual hub;
b) Reconfigure the website to function effectively as a payment portal with customized payment receipts issued to practitioners for all online payments; and
c) Create a clean, up-to-date, reliable, and searchable comprehensive data-base of members of the NBA duly uploaded on the website and updated regularly to keep track of financial members, new and out-going members, and members under disciplinary sanction. Given the chance, we would transform the NBA website into an interactive hub where members, sections, branches and various fora can interact with the association and each other seamlessly and in real-time – accessing information and resources; holding virtual meetings; attending e-learning sessions; making payments for bar practicing fees, dues, conferences, bar stamps, etc; corresponding; and resolving issues.
We would also bequeath the legacy of a comprehensive searchable database of lawyers hosted on the NBA website, which is updated on an annual basis and contains notations of payment status (of bar practicing fees and dues) as well as indications of members under disciplinary sanction.
This updated directory would be an important resource for planning, information dissemination, and regulation. It would also form the basis of the list of eligible voters in an election year.
If you elect me as General Secretary of the NBA, I Pledge to serve with the passion, integrity and efficiency for which I am well known, and to pursue this and five (5) other Core Pursuits which I have elaborated on in MY MANIFESTO to deliver a ‘Fit For Purpose’ Bar Secretariat. My Profile and Manifesto have been uploaded by the ECNBA and can be viewed at (or downloaded from) https://nigerianbar.org.ng/node/257.
I will place my time, energy, talents, experience and resources at the disposal of the Bar for the next two years, and offer the kind of premium stewardship which the Bar definitely needs at this time.
The Bar needs a great scribe. I have been tried, tested and adjudged to be one.
I seek your mandate.
Let’s do this together.
Warm regards,
Alex Nduka MUOKA Candidate for General Secretary of the NBA
