NBA’s President, Olumide Akpata
Says association’ criticism mere academic exercise
The people of Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti South-West Local Council have faulted the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), likening the establishment of some law school campuses to distribution of constituency projects by National Assembly members.
The NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata, had in Ado-Ekiti at a press conference heralding a three-day NBA Legal Education Summit held in Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) with the theme: “Reimagining Legal Education in Nigeria,” chided the National Assembly for turning the establishment of law schools to constituency projects by proposing six more campuses when the existing ones are not properly funded.
BUT reacting to the position of the association, the Ilawe-Ekiti community insisted that the NBA lacked the power to stop the Federal Government from exercising its powers to establish the campuses where the town has been chosen as a location for one of the campuses.
The community, at a press conference heralding the 10th coronation anniversary of Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Ajibade Alabi, yesterday, said it was right for the National Assembly to have considered the town worthy of having a campus of the school, describing NBA’s position a mere academic exercise.
Chairman of the Coronation Anniversary Committee, Captain Kunle Layiwola, said: “Law School issue has been thoroughly discussed. Campuses have been coming up before now, so what the NBA said was a mere academic exercise.
“It is the government that has power to establish law schools. The Senate has passed the bill creating more campuses. The House of Representatives will soon pass same. We appeared before the Senate Committee on Judiciary to defend our position and nothing has changed as we speak, it will be sited here.
In the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (U.S., there are so many law school campuses. Over 5,000 students graduated as law students and could not be enrolled in law school for lack of space. If the Senate Committee on Judiciary could find it expedient to establish more campuses, so be it.”