The 2014 Annual Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) will open today in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The conference, which is expected to draw more than 10,000 participants from across the 36 states of the federation, will witness to hand over by the Okey Wali-led excutive to a new team elected in Benin City, the Edo State capital early this month.
The delegates, who began trooping into Owerri yesterday for check-in and other formalities, are expected to appraise the performance of the NBA in the last couple of years, review achievements and challenges, address certain issues affecting the profession within the context of the national political environment, and the place of Nigerian lawyers in global legal practice.
Earlier, the Federal Ministry of Health has given the NBA the green light to proceed with the conference, amid concerns that the meeting may provide the grounds for the spread of Ebola.
The NBA President, Okey Wali, said that after a “fruitful” meeting with Health Ministry officials, the NBA was given the go-ahead for the conference.
Wali said the ministry was now working with the association to curtail the spread of the deadly virus that has killed five people in Nigeria.
“We put our thoughts across to them about what we were doing. The preventive and safety methods put in place – sanitiser and temperature pens, and they were very impressed, and also gave a couple of suggestions to us about one or two things we should look at, and we agreed to work together even beyond the conference,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Health Ministry, Dan Nwomeh, confirmed that the government was satisfied with measures put in place by the NBA for the conference.
“The NBA has made provisions for spraying the hall with family sanitizer, they have provided additional mobile toilets and have made arrangement for spacing of the sitting arrangement,” Nwomeh said.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Chidi Odinkalu, had urged the NBA to suspend the conference until the Federal Government has been able to curtail the spread of the virus.
Odinkalu, who is billed to give a speech at the conference, said he was staying away after being placed on observation of possible Ebola infection having been treated as an outpatient by one of the doctors who had contact with the Ebola index case, Patrick Sawyer.
“It will be ill-judged to continue with the conference in the circumstances of the present public health emergency prevailing in the country,” the NHRC boss said in a statement.
The NBA conference attracts large number of lawyers from across the country. Odinkalu said it could pose public health risk as the country is battling to contain the spread of the virus.
But Wali, said the Ministry of Health has agreed to send its officials to the NBA conference to help sensitise members of the association.
“Because the NBA has a very good reach with members all across the nation, they are disbursing some materials to us like leaflets and posters on how to check Ebola in the conference. In fact, officials of the Federal Ministry of Health would be attending the conference on Monday to give five to ten minutes talk on Ebola. It was very fruitful. In fact, we are all very happy with the way things turned out.
“But the most important thing is that we have put a lot of measures in place and the Federal Ministry of Health officials were very impressed with the steps that we have taken. In fact, they have said they wished that other organisations or people organising such thing would take a cue from what the NBA has done,” Wali said.
He added that the NBA is also working with the Imo State Ministry of Health, which has also set up an arrangement to sensitise the lawyers on preventive measures against Ebola.
He praised Odinkalu for the advice but said it was an isolated case.
“We are thankful to him that he was honourable enough to disclose the fact that he was under observation and will stay away from the conference but that is one case,” Wali said.

It would be recalled that Nigeria has recorded five deaths so far since the outbreak of the disease in July.
Eight people who have tested positive for the disease are still receiving treatment at the isolation centre in Lagos.
Over 200 people are being monitored. Last week, 61 persons were released from the observation centre after being certified by health officials.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference holding in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, from August 25 to 29, the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr Chukwuma Umeh, has said that the participants will undergo screening on Ebola virus.
Over 10,000 legal practitioners are attending the conference.
The Attorney General told reporters in Owerri that various points from the airport to the venue of the conference, which is the Imo International Convention Centre, had been earmarked as screening points before gaining access into the hall.
He also said that the state government was well prepared for the programme and had put adequate measures in place to ensure the security of all participants and the smooth success of the programme.
Umeh further debunked allegations that there was a court order restraining the government from using the venue of the programme.