The Nigerian government has inaugurated the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Council to work out modalities for improved welfare of legal practitioners in Nigeria.
The Attorney General and Minister Justice. Abubakar Malami, while inaugurating the committee, urged the members to be fair and to discharge their statutory responsibilities without fear or favour
He drew the attention of the committee to accord special consideration to the new wigs and young lawyers as a way to encourage their dedication and commitment to justice delivery.
The Attorney General noted that the Legal Practitioners Act established the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Committee to, amongst other things, regulate and standardise the remuneration of legal practitioners in Nigeria
“By virtue of Section 15 of the Legal Practitioners Act, the Committee is made up of the Honourable Attorneys-General of the Federation and the States, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, President and three (3) other members of NBA.”
Malami explained that constituting the committee became imperative for the good of legal practitioners.
“Over the years, finding a reasonable remuneration for legal services has been an issue of great controversy for legal professionals.
“Despite the existence of a scale of charges for legal services in Nigeria, there have been repeated debates for and against its existence,” Malami said.
He expressed the commitment of the Nigerian government to “Fulfil its overarching mandate of improving the administration of justice in Nigeria, by providing necessary support to the Nigerian Bar Association and ensuring that “our dear association is well positioned to address the legal needs of legal practitioners and Nigerians as a whole.”
Chairman of the committee and Attorney General Lagos State Mr Moyosore Onigbanji SAN said, the committee is to attain the protection, equity, and fairness in charge of legal practitioners.
“The scale of charges is to help both the client and lawyers themselves.”
Also speaking, the President Nigerian Bar Association Mr Yakubu Maiykau said, “it is a committee that seeks to attain balance and fairness both for the person that is providing the service and for the person that is paying for the service.”
Source: Voice of Nigeria