By Awhawha Awhawha
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, says legal advocacy on issues affecting the region is essential for driving its development.
Ogbuku made this known while opening this year’s NDDC MOOT and Mock Trial Competition for Universities in the Niger Delta region in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He reminded the participants that the Commission was interested in the growth of the region’s youth.
Ogbuku, who was represented by the Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye. stated that the Commission would continue to support the growth of education in the region.
The NDDC boss noted that the Commission had intervened in the educational sector severally and built hostels in various universities and polytechnics in the Niger Delta region.
In a keynote Address, the former Attorney-General of Rivers State, Professor Zaccheus Adangor SAN, explained that the legal profession had remained noble, honourable, and learned.
He challenged the students to maintain integrity in their journey in legal practice.
The legal luminary counselled participants to note that people bring their issues to the court to get justice, and as such, lawyers should be persons of good character with trustworthy attributes.
While thanking the NDDC for sponsoring the competition, he advised students to be open to learning and ideas, considering that the legal profession demanded sound knowledge in various areas.
He insisted that honesty, integrity, and good character were essential virtues that every legal practitioner needed.
Professor Adangor maintained that lawyers should invest in knowledge as ministers in the temple of Justice, urging legal practitioners to always buy soft and hard copies of books.
Prof Adangor emphasised the importance of moving with new trends and following all the changes in the legal profession.
The Chairman of the occasion, a Judge of the Rivers State High Court, Justice Daketima Gabriel Kio, acknowledged that NDDC, led by Ogbuku, had made a significant and positive difference in the region’s development.
According to him, the Moot and Mock Trial competition, supported by the NDDC, would be a good platform for regional integration and law students to become successful legal practitioners.
Earlier in his welcome address, the NDDC Acting Director, Legal Services, Sir Victor Arenyeka. expressed joy that last year’s moot competition was impactful and considered one of the best in the country by stakeholders.
He noted that NDDC designed the competition to prepare students from the region on issues affecting Niger Delta region, such as Environmental Law, Oil and Gas and Sustainable Development.
The chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK, Port Harcourt branch, Mr. Emeka Onyeka, described the sponsorship of the competition by NDDC as one of the best investments made by the Commission.
He encouraged students to use the knowledge judiciously.
About twenty law Faculties from Universities in the Niger Delta region participated in the competition and were gifted the latest edition of the Nigerian weekly law reports by the NDDC.