The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has pledged to put into consideration lawyers with disabilities in its 61st yearly general conference as more than 10,000 lawyers have registered for it.
The president of the Association, Mr. Olumide Akpata, who made the pledge while briefing newsmen last Thursday about the conference, said a forum has been set up to tackle the challenge faced by lawyers living with disabilities, to enable them participate effectively during the conference.
According to him, NBA will carve out a special session during the conference for legal practitioners living with disabilities. The conference is scheduled to take place at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, with the theme: “Taking the Lead” and will be held physically and virtually.
Some topics for discussion are; Taking the Lead: A Conversation on Leadership and Followership; Reversing the Trend: A call for National Re-orientation; and The Levers for Economic Growth and Development.
The hybrid conference, Akpata said, will address issues around the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, access to justice and protection of fundamental rights, the economy and how to pilot the present for a better future.
“It is a very deliberate theme. We are mindful of the state of things in our country today and it is necessary for some of us to take the lead in determining how we want to go as a nation, how we want to go as a profession and how we want to go as a people.
“We are speaking to lawyers, and to Nigerians through this theme,” Akpata added. Chairman of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP), Mr. Akin Ajibola, assured the association members that a virtual conference platform that could deliver an in-person conference experience would be deployed.
He admonished physical participants to comply with the COVID-19 protocol and adhere to health and safety regulations during the period of the conference. Ajibola further assured lawyers of full maintenance of security in the conference.
“We have engaged a lot of the security agencies, including private security services to ensure that there is sufficient provision of security through out the period of the conference.
“The governor of Rivers state is our host. He has shown his commitment in many ways to ensure that we are all provided with the support by his government and all support from the security forces not only for the conference but even for people who will be moving around to participate in other events scheduled to happen in different locations during the conference,” he said.