In a veiled response to the steep 400 percent increment in the Processing Fee for the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, an association of lawyers and staff of the National Assembly and other legislatures within Nigeria and overseas, has formally notified the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the introduction of two ranks for its members.
Like the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the new ranks - Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SECON) and Senior Legislative Counsel of Nigeria (SELCON) - are designed to recognize excellence in advocacy and legislative drafting.
Indicating that the new ranks were designed to offer an alternative to senior lawyers who may be unable to afford the substantial N5 million Processing Fee for the SAN rank, the association wrote: "With the new Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) application fees standing at N5,000,000 (five million naira only), we believe that our members and other Nigerian lawyers should have alternatives. This has inspired the introduction of both ranks. The criteria for selection of applicants is also available upon request."
The letter was copied to the President of the Nigerian Bar Association; Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; Clerk of the National Assembly; Clerk, House of Representatives; President of Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel, and Speaker, National Assembly, Kingdom of Lesotho.
Below is the full text of the letter.
NOTIFICATION OF INTRODUCTION OF THE RANK OF SENIOR COUNSEL OF NIGERIA/AFRICA (SCON) AND SENIOR LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL OF NIGERIA/AFRICA (SELCON)
Our Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP is a non-profit Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) incorporated in the year 2017 by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria.
In September 2017, the Nigerian Bar Association-NBA’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education accredited our Association-ALDRAP as a provider of continuing legal education programmes for Nigerian lawyers.
We have over 1,000 registered members who are lawyers and staff of the National Assembly and other legislatures within Nigeria and beyond. A copy of our membership list and our brochure is attached.
In conjunction with the Centre for Legal, Parliamentary Publishing Consult, (PTY) Limited, Kingdom of Lesotho (registered in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Southern Africa), we have designed an evidence-based method of assessment and conferment of two unique ranks for both Nigerian and African lawyers.
We write to notify that our Governing Council has approved the introduction of two ranks for our members and others namely: (1) Senior Counsel of Nigeria and (2) Senior Legislative Counsel of Nigeria (SELCON).
With the new Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) application fees standing at N5,000,000 (five million naira only), we believe that our members and other Nigerian lawyers should have alternatives. This has inspired the introduction of both ranks. The criteria for selection of applicants is also available upon request.
The Senior Legislative Counsel of Nigeria (SELCON) rank conferred by the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP upon its members, and other lawyers is our own version of FELLOWSHIP.
Then gradually if the LPPC agrees, then it becomes an alternative route to the SAN rank.
The Application Fees should be N500,000 for lawyers in private practice and N250,000 for lawyers in government service or law lecturers who lecture in the field of legislative drafting.
Applications are to be sent to the Registrar or Secretary of ALDRAP via email address is ialdlarl@gmail.com or tonyejaja2023@gmail.com
And use the ALDRAP’s bank account details as follows:
Bank Name: United Bank for Africa (UBA) current account
Account Number: 1020343779,
Account Name: Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP.
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