The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) adopted the Report of the NBA Remuneration Committee led by Chief Emeka Obegolu, SAN, at its meeting held on Thursday, 5 February 2026, in Maiduguri, Borno State, reaffirming the Association’s commitment to the full enforcement of the Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration Order (LPRO) 2023 and the protection of lawyers from professional undercutting.
At the meeting, NEC considered the comprehensive report presented by the Committee, which detailed strategic interventions, nationwide advocacy efforts, enforcement activities, and disciplinary reviews undertaken in the concluding quarter of 2025 and the commencement of the 2026 legal year. NEC commended the Committee for its sustained engagement and clear focus on institutionalising a culture of fair remuneration within the legal profession.
In adopting the report, NEC noted the Committee’s extensive sensitisation and advocacy engagements across the country, including presentations at the NBA–SPIDEL Annual Conference, branch-level town halls, and public-interest workshops. The Council particularly acknowledged the Committee’s emphasis on the Three-Band State Economic Classification Model, designed to ensure that the LPRO is applied realistically while maintaining minimum professional standards nationwide.
NEC further took note of the Committee’s report on disciplinary proceedings arising from alleged breaches of the Remuneration Order. While investigations into five formal petitions were concluded without findings of culpability, NEC agreed with the Committee that the process underscored the importance of clear written terms of engagement between lawyers and clients as a safeguard against disputes and professional vulnerability.
The Council also reviewed the Committee’s report on branch-level compliance and observed that while most NBA branches have adopted enforcement resolutions, NBA Kafanchan remains the only non-compliant branch as at the date of the report. NEC therefore urged the leadership of the Kafanchan Branch to immediately align with the national directive in the interest of uniformity, professionalism, and collective responsibility.
In adopting the report, NEC further endorsed the Committee’s plan to convene nationwide Town Hall Meetings in the first quarter of 2026, which will serve as the definitive platform for harmonising enforcement of the LPRO across all jurisdictions. NEC emphasised that the Remuneration Order is not optional, but a binding regulatory instrument aimed at protecting the dignity, independence, and economic sustainability of legal practice in Nigeria.
NEC also welcomed the Committee’s public-facing advocacy campaign, “No Lawyer Should Be Shortchanged,” noting that educating the public on transparent fee structures and fair valuation of legal services is essential to strengthening respect for the profession and reducing fee-related disputes.
The adoption of the Remuneration Committee’s report forms part of a broader, deliberate, and sustained effort by the administration of Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, to restore professional dignity, strengthen economic sustainability within the legal profession, and ensure that regulatory instruments of the Association are not merely aspirational but effectively enforced. The current administration has prioritised the enforcement of the LPRO 2023 as a core pillar of its wider reform agenda aimed at protecting lawyers, especially young and vulnerable practitioners, from exploitative practices and systemic undercutting.
The resolution underscores the Nigerian Bar Association’s resolve to sanitise the professional billing landscape, uphold fair compensation for legal services, and ensure that the Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration Order 2023 remains a living, enforceable instrument in the Nigerian legal system.
