RE: REJOINDER TO A RECKLESS, INACCURATE AND JAUNDICED PUBLICATION OF MR IBRAHIM OLATOYE LAWAL (IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN, NBA IBADAN BRANCH) PUBLISHED ON THE 20TH OF JUNE 2026 ON BAR PLATFORMS AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA FORA
Consequent on the expiration of the 72-hour ultimatum issued by the former Secretary of the NBA, Ibadan Branch, 2022-2024, Mr Olakunle Akintola, via a release with the above caption, for the withdrawal of my statement made as I bowed out of office as the Chairman of the NBA, Ibadan Branch, I am impelled to put in a few words in addition to the earlier statement made by me at the handover meeting held on the 20th June, 2026.
Let me restate the facts as contained in the said statement and proceed to mention a few more to assist him and/or any persons, whose interests coalesce with his on this issue. While it is not the intention of the Executive Committee of the NBA, 2024-2026, under my leadership, to engage in brickbats with anyone, it is imperative that we lay the facts bare for posterity.
Mr Olakunle Akintola’s rejoinder excites a certain amusement reading through his laborious but failed attempt to inject figures and dates to create confusion and doubt on the veracity of the innocuous statement made at that auspicious moment. We believed it was incumbent on us to clarify issues, publicly, and allow the new leadership to either confirm or deny the account details as presented. This we did with the noblest of intentions, without malice or prejudice.
Let me hasten to assert that Mr Olakunle Akintola published the account balances as at the 13th June, 2024. Our administration assumed office on the 22nd June, 2024. He omitted the state of accounts between the 14th June, 2024 and 22nd June, 2024. He also forgot to mention that the administration, under which he served as Secretary, did not hand over, properly, until the 30th June, 2024. Mr Akintola slipped into deliberate amnesia by refusing to state, specifically, the amount left in the banks as at the expiration of the 2022-2024 administration.
A simple arithmetic on the summation of the balances would have thrown up a template for disquisition or affirmation. Vitriolic expletives, diatribes and tantrums cannot be veritable substitutes for figures. It is not my duty to assist him or anyone in his group to discharge this simple responsibility. It should not be difficult for Mr Akintola to state the exact amount left in the coffers of the NBA, Ibadan Branch, at the expiration of the 2022-2024 administration. I state, without equivocation, that the figures quoted in his rejoinder do not represent the state of the account handed over to us.
Mr Akintola’s reference to “monumental projects” embarked upon by their administration as the reason for the meagre amount left stood at variance with the realities on the expiration of their tenure. These projects, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Bar Centre Annex and the Bar Book, query any claims to propriety. It is important to remind him that the expenses incurred, apart from donated assets in kind, amounted to N128,229.00M. The sum of N117,252.00M, representing 91.44%, had payment vouchers raised for expenses while transactions totaling N10.97M had no payment vouchers. No explanation was proffered till we left office.
May I, at this juncture, challenge Mr Akintola to explain why payment vouchers in the sum of N114,662M were issued in favour of Folashade Aladeniyi (Nissi-Lexis Chambers) Account as beneficiary/payee from where suppliers of goods and services got paid as against the established tradition of payment through the Association’s account? It was/is an oddity.
The mention of the Bar Annex named after our revered patron, Oluwarotimi Aketedolu, SAN, CON, as befitting evokes an instant feeling of revulsion, knowing Aketi’s penchant for aesthetic value and decency. The decrepit state of the building at the time of the handover insulted the memory of the great man. No reasonable person expends huge resources to erect such a monumental disgrace. The whole structure belies our claim to excellence and decency. From the poor POP fitting, to a complete collapse of the toilet facility on the first floor, for both male and female, and non-functional water system, any pretence to probity and service confirms hypocrisy.
Mr Akintola also failed to touch on the energy debt left for our administration to clear. A humongous debt of N3,625,000.00 was inherited from their administration. The power supply to the Bar Centre was disconnected until our administration cleared the debt. As at 19th June, 2026, all dysfunctional components of Annex had been fixed. In addition, three pre-paid metres were purchased for the Annex to put the building in a good stead to attract commensurate commercial value.
Mr Akintola may wish to consider providing an answer to a query on the main account where 33 payment vouchers valued at N6,691,097.00 were reviewed out of which only N2,941,200.00, about 43.9%, had supporting documents such as invoices and/or receipts attached to the payment vouchers. The others, valued at N3,749,897.00 (56.1%) had no supporting documents.
The Bar Book, another “monumental project” mentioned by Mr Akintola, did not become a reality during their administration.
As a marked departure from the opacity which characterised the accounting style during their administration, I assert, with boldness, that the sum of N50M were the total balance left in all the accounts of the Association as at the 19th June, 2026. We handed over verifiable assets, not liabilities, on the 22nd June, 2026.
This response will be of tremendous assistance to Mr Akintola or anyone who may wish to assert his/her legal rights.
Ibrahim Lawal, Esq, MCIArb UK.
Chairman, NBA, IBADAN, 2024-2026.
