Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Mike Ozekhome, has faulted the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the General Council of the Bar (GCB) over the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programme, insisting it is unconstitutional and illegal.
Speaking in a detailed legal analysis, Ozekhome argued that while the programme is laudable in intent, the NBA and GCB lack the legal powers to make it compulsory for lawyers.
According to him, the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA) clearly states that the only requirement for a lawyer to practise in Nigeria is the payment of annual practising fees to the Supreme Court’s Registrar. He stressed that no other condition has been prescribed by law.
“The CPD programme, however noble, cannot override the law. By making CPD a condition before a lawyer can practise, the NBA and GCB have acted beyond their powers. This is unconstitutional,” he said.
Ozekhome noted that Rule 11 of the 2023 Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), which introduces CPD as mandatory, directly conflicts with the LPA. He reminded lawyers that under Nigerian law, a subsidiary rule like the RPC cannot contradict its parent Act.
Citing several Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions, the human rights lawyer stressed that the doctrine of covering the field makes it clear that once the National Assembly legislates on a matter, no other body can introduce rules that compete with or contradict the law.
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He concluded that only the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to legislate on professional occupations such as law. Therefore, the GCB acted ultra vires (beyond its powers) by making CPD compulsory.
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“The NBA should regulate lawyers’ conduct and ethics, not impose compulsory courses of study. That power belongs only to the National Assembly. The CPD rule is unconstitutional and void,” Ozekhome declared
