L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; President, Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Okey Wali, SAN; and Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, during a courtesy visit by the National Executive Committee of the NBA, in Ado-Ekiti.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has charged the Nigerian Bar Association not to lose focus in the roles it is presently playing in deepening democracy in the country.
The Governor gave the charge while receiving the leadership of the Association led by its National President, Mr Okey Wali (SAN) in his office Friday in Ado-Ekiti. He said that the Bar had always been at the fore front of agitations for the growth of the nascent democracy, urging it not to relapse in view of the coming change in its leadership following the expiration of the tenure of the outgoing executive.
Governor Fayemi who asserted that lawyers are needed to continue their noble roles in entrenching the rule of law as the country prepares for the 2015 general elections, commended the Okey Wali-led executive for successfully “expanding the coast of the bar in the country”.
While highlighting the roles of the Ekiti State chapter of the Association in advancing the course of the people, the Governor stated that the Bar has played very crucial role in the sustenance of peace and order in the State since his emergence as governor in 2010.
Fayemi added that the state chapter of NBA had also contributed largely in the reform of Administration of Justice in the State as well as other legal framework aimed at making the Ekiti a choice destination for investors.
Fayemi said: “I must commend the Bar here in Ekiti State for working with us to assure the people that the processes and principles of the legal framework aimed at advancing the course of democracy is in place. They believe in it, they support it and associate with it, even actively take part in it. There is hardly any committee we set up on the administration of justice that the Bar is not active in. I think all of us in Ekiti owe the Bar and the legal profession in general a debt of gratitude because we won’t have had this largely peaceful tenure. This is a governor who loses cases in his own state court without any repercussion. “We have had a robust relationship with the judiciary, the bar, and we will continue to respect the individual right of our citizens because they are citizens, not subjects”, he said.
Earlier, the President of the Association, Mr Wali said the courtesy call on the Governor was customary to the Association after its National Executive Council meeting as a mark of respect for the Governor of the host State.
Wali who had at the banquet held for the members of the Bar on Thursday night commended Fayemi for transforming Ekiti State expressed confidence that the Governor has given the State purposeful leadership in the last three years.
He thanked Fayemi for the support given to the State chapter of the Association in hosting the NEC meeting; saying that this proves that the Governor is loved by all and sundry.
Last modified: March 9, 2014