The Nigerian Bar Association Young Lawyers Forum (NBA-YLF) formally presented the resolutions and key outcomes of the NBA-YLF National Summit 2026 to the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association during the NEC Meeting held in Awka, Anambra State.
Presenting the report on behalf of the Governing Council of the NBA-YLF, the Secretary of the Forum, Etaba Agbor, highlighted the activities of the Forum over the past months, with particular emphasis on the successful hosting of the NBA-YLF National Summit 2026 in Port Harcourt.
The presentation came at the last NEC meeting preceding the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, providing a strategic platform for the concerns, aspirations, and collective positions of young lawyers across Nigeria to be formally communicated to the leadership of the Bar.
A major focus of the presentation was the formal submission of the Communiqué issued at the conclusion of the NBA-YLF National Summit 2026, a landmark gathering which marked twenty years of the NBA Young Lawyers Forum as the leading platform for the growth, representation, and advancement of young lawyers in Nigeria.
The Summit featured robust technical sessions and policy engagements centered on leadership, mentorship, ethics, legal innovation, welfare, remuneration, legal education, institutional reforms, and the future of legal regulation in Nigeria.
One of the most significant resolutions presented to NEC was the Forum’s position on the proposed pupilage system under the Legal Practitioners Bill. The Summit resolved that pupilage must never become a vehicle for exploitation within the legal profession and insisted that any pupilage framework introduced must be accompanied by a mandatory living wage and enforceable welfare protections for young lawyers.
The Communiqué also called for the establishment of a standardized remuneration framework within the legal profession, structured employment systems, humane working conditions, and stronger institutional accountability in addressing the welfare challenges confronting young practitioners across the country.
The NBA-YLF further expressed appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association under the President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and members of the National Executive Council for their continued support towards the development of young lawyers and ongoing efforts to ensure that the proposed Legal Practitioners Bill contains substantial provisions addressing the welfare and professional advancement of young lawyers in Nigeria.
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