At the NDDC Law and Development Summit, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, emphasized that sustainable development cannot be achieved through funding, planning, and engineering alone.
According to him, while infrastructure, technology, and financial resources are critical components of development, the law remains the indispensable foundation upon which meaningful progress is built.
He noted that without the law, there would be disputes without solutions, investments without protection, and development without direction. Law, he stated, provides the framework that guarantees order, accountability, justice, stability, and investor confidence.
The NBA President further observed that the law is the most important pillar of democratic governance, embodying principles such as government of the people, by the people and for the people, as well as the doctrines of separation of powers and checks and balances. He stressed that legal frameworks must not only exist on paper but must be effectively implemented to drive remediation, equity, prosperity, and inclusive growth.
Speaking on the mandate of the Niger Delta Development Commission, he expressed confidence that the Summit would serve as a turning point toward sincere, law-driven, rapid, even, and sustainable development of the Niger Delta region and Nigeria as a whole.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that the deliberations of the Summit culminate in practical and actionable resolutions capable of translating legal principles into measurable developmental outcomes.
