Former President Goodluck Jonathan says he believes the present socio-economic uncertainty which had sent shivers to all nooks and crannies of society would also be overcome by the grace of God.

However, Jonathan noted that while the Federal Government is doing its best to salvage the situation, what the country needs now is collaborative efforts in finding solutions to the present economic hardship.

The former President stated this at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall Yenagoa on Friday while declaring open the “2024 Annual Law Week” of the Yenagoa Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), with the theme: “The Legal Profession in a time of socio-economic uncertainty”

He described the theme as not only apt but well chosen in view of the present economic hardships in the country and presents an opportunity for a reflection on general governance issues and the need to address them urgently for the wellbeing of the citizenry.

The former president who was represented by the a monarch and lawyer, Paramount Ruler of Abureni Clan, HRM Collins Daniel, said :”Between 1984-1987 there were also economic challenges in Nigeria under the General Ibrahim Badamasi Babagida’s administration, which led the Federal Government to introduce an economic recovery programme called the Structural Adiustment Programme, codenamed SAP. The country experienced scarcity of essential commodities, and the citizens suffered severe hardship. God was with us and the country bounced back.

“Between 2016 to 2019, the whole world went through another economic recession. Nigeria also had her own share of the hardship, but we were fortunate we were able to get out of the recession in a few years.

“I believe the present socio-economic uncertainty which had sent shivers to all nooks and crannies of society would also be overcome by the grace of God. The Federal Government is doing its best to salvage the situation,” he said.

Delivering a keynote speech entitled: “Socio-Economic Uncertainty of Legal Practices in Nigeria: The Law in the Global Economy, ” Justice Obande Ogbuinya, Justice of the Supreme Court, JSC, said it is undisputed that the economy is the basic foundation of every society and law reflects the nature of the economy, said there is a global economic crisis, ravaging the entire world.

“Nigeria is not an exception. Our economy is wobbling and engulfed in instability. It is a bleeding economy. It is exacerbated by uncontrollable galloping inflation which births astronomical rise in cost of living, low purchasing power and quality of life, geometric increase in prices of basic goods and services.

“The value of our national currency, Naira, has nosedived to an abysmal level. This has inflicted financial hemorrhage and uncertainty on the citizenry. Corruption is an amorphous and a polymorphous phenomenon which is rebellious to a unified definition. It is parental to bribery, but divorced from gift.

“While bribe carries “expectation of a reciprocal obligation to be performed by the recipient, gift exhibits “no such obligatory attachment”” Corruption owns variegated species political, social, economic/private, bureaucratic, electoral, judicial and moral corruption” It is a transnational cankerworm that permeates. every facet of the Nigerian society thereby making many Nigerians corruption- friendly.

“This superficial juridical survey, occasioned by paucity of time and spatial constraint, exposes the dwindling fortune of legal practice due to the daunting socio- economic uncertainty in this country. The dissection has demonstrated that it requires the collective efforts of the government and stakeholders of the legal profession to rescue the legal practice from the claws of socio-economic uncertainty,” he said.

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the economic crisis is not peculiar to Nigeria alone as other parts of the world including Europe are also facing similar crisis, called on lawyers to be innovative as opportunities abound despite the economic situation.

He maintained that the President Bola Tinubu led federal government is doing everything necessary to see how the vulnerable population can be supported, adding that the the government means well and is doing whatever that is necessary to solve the economic situation.

In her welcome remarks, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Matilda Ayemieye, said in this time of economic uncertainty, there is need to create new laws or seek interpretations of existing law.

She said:”Legal practitioners play a crucial role in adapting to these changes whether by drafting new legislations, challenging unjust laws or interpreting legal precedence in our courts. Legal profession serves as a corner stone of stability, justice and governance during times of uncertainty by upholding the rule of law and advocating for fairness.” (Vanguard)

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