Amidst tenure controversy, SANs to hold first election in 11 years

The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) will on Saturday, hold its first election since its incorporation on May 31, 2011.
The election will take place during the BOSAN Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Dining Hall of the Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus, at 11am.
BOSAN Secretary, Mr. Seyi Sowemimo, stated this in a notice seen by The Nation
According to the notice, the meeting will also “lay before members, the Annual Report of the Body and the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, together with the Report of the Auditors thereon.

“Re-appoint Messrs. Agbaje, Ige & Co as the Auditors of the Body, authorise the Executive Committee to fix the remuneration of the Auditors.”
The AGM/election was initially scheduled to hold on April 23, 2022 but was postponed to Saturday, following, among others, “the need to allow for more time to receive nominations for two vacant offices” for which no nominations had been received.
The offices were that of Assistant Secretary and Financial Secretary.

There was also “the need to put in place an independent Electoral Committee (which subject to ratification by the House) will oversee the procedure and process of the election, in accordance with best practices,” an April 6, 2022 notice seen by… reads.
The election comes in the midst of a brewing controversy over the tenure of the current BOSAN executive, some of whom have been administering the association’s affairs longer than the maximum two terms of two years’ each prescribed in the BOSAN Constitution 2007.

Article 7 of the BOSAN Constitution lists the officers of the Body as a Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer Programme and Publicity Secretary.

It states that save for the office of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, which shall be occupied respectively by the incumbent Attorney-General of the Federation provided that he is a SAN and by the most senior living member of the Body who has indicated willingness to serve, “all officers of the Body shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting of the Body.”
Article 7(b), which addresses tenure of officers, states: “Officers other than the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman stall hold office upon election for a term of two years and shall be eligible for re-election to the same office for a single additional term of two years only.”

Article 7(c) adds that “Offices shall be vacant by expiration of term, death, resignation or any other cause rendering the holder incapable of holding same by the operation of this Constitution or any other Nigeriau law,” while any vacancy occurring between AGM “shall be filled as may be expedient by the Executive Committee pending the following General Meeting.”
It was gathered that some senior lawyers are concerned about the alleged disregard of the BOSAN constitution concerning the incumbent officers’ tenure.

They argued specifically that the prescription of a two-year tenure for officers and four years if re-elected under Article 7(c), sacrosanct, but had been violated, with some officers staying over 11 years.
The election is expected to lay to rest the controversy over the current BOSAN executive’s tenure.