Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, a Lawmaker representing Sokoto South Senatorial District at the 10th Senate, has again called for a holistic approach to judicial reforms in Nigeria to pave the way for better remuneration for lawyers nationwide.
This is just as he assured that the National Assembly members would be committed to the noble cause of actualizing the reforms, though insisting that the struggle should begin with legal practitioners in both public and private practice.
Senator Tambuwal, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, made this disclosure on Thursday in Abuja at the National Summit of the Young Lawyers Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) themed “Breaking the Old Order of Governance and Advocacy”.
The lawyer-turned-federal lawmaker said Nigerian lawyers are not immune to the daunting economic challenges across the country, hence the need for constructive conversations on issues that concern the legal profession, especially the remuneration for lawyers.
“We must all agree that as lawyers we live in the Nigerian States, we live in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are therefore not insulated from the happenings in our society and from the happenings in our country,” he said.
According to him, “The talk about minimum wage and better remuneration is all over the place, the talk about restructuring and reformation of many sectors is on the front burner, and as lawyers, we must take our pride position in leading the conversations on and about what concerns legal profession and indeed the remuneration of lawyers in Nigeria.”
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum insisted that the reform must be holistic to achieve its desired goal.
“We must take it holistically if we want to succeed, that was why possibly the four members representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association could not possibly achieve certain things when they were confronted by the 37-member panel of Attorneys General of the Federation and of states”.
“So, this matter as important as it is, we must find a common ground, we must find a confluence, we must find how to resolve it and I think one of such ways is by being inclusive in driving the process. Those of you in the private bar and those in the public service who are lawyers are in dire need of reviews of their remuneration and we must find a way of bringing the two together to work it out.”
He assured the legal practitioners of the National Assembly’s nod towards actualizing the dream. “Once that is achieved, it would be easier to pull it through because even in the National Assembly, there are so many lawyers working, and there are so many lawyers who are legal assistants or legislative aides to the members of parliament. They will see to it that that is implemented because it will benefit them too”.
Tambuwal, in his first public appearance since the demise of the former Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, paid tribute to the late Former President of the NBA, whom he described as a dear brother, friend and colleague.
The former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Governors’ Forum said he was convinced beyond doubt that the passionate engagements by the young lawyers throughout the sessions were a pointer to a new direction in Nigeria’s legal profession.
He appreciated the President of the NBA, Yakubu Maikyau, his executive members and the leadership of the NBA-YLF for the opportunity to get in touch.
