Lawyers want security vote, constituency projects declared illegal

The Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) on Friday, advocated that

security vote and constituency projects should be declared illegal.

However, the association has recommended the need for government to employ

legal tools in order to overcome the nation's economic challenges.

This is contained in a communiqué issued by Mr Adure Uzo-Peters, the

Secretary of

the NALT Conference Communique Committee, at the end of the 49th Annual

National Conference of the association in Keffi, Nasarawa state.

Uzo-Peters said that in view of the present economic situation in Nigeria, the

conference recommended for the need to employ legal tools as a

veritable catalysts

for national development and economic growth.

``We have decided to choose the conference theme as `Law and Economy' as it is

not only timely but also appropriate because of the volatile times our

economy is

passing through.

Evidently, only through law can we genuinely establish enduring economic

structures. Law does not only regulate the acquisition of the factors

of production

but it also determines the legal context and basis of their interaction and law

controls the inter-governmental behaviour in relation to the economy.

``We recommend that, for accountability, security votes and

constituency projects

should be declared illegal or at a minimum, open to public scrutiny

and to trigger

trade and investment, the present shareholder maximisation theory

which underlies

our corporate laws should tilt to a stakeholder maximisation focus.

``There is the need for government to also focus on law enforcement and not

necessarily over legislation, as it appears that there are near

sufficient laws to fight

the malaise of threats to the country's economy growth.

``It is imperative to create and develop competition law and policy (anti-trust

legislation) to protect public and private interests in achieving the

best allocation

of resources possible," the association said.

According to the communique, ``Nigeria must make deliberate efforts to address

regulatory inefficiency as it is necessary to embark upon rigorous enforcement

policy to stimulate proper market behaviour which would serve as a catalyst for

development''.

The communique said the conference also recommended that in the light of the

fund set up for unemployment benefits by the current administration,

it is important

for Nigeria to create and develop a long-term and sustainable social

security policy

for Nigeria.

Closing the five-day event earlier, the President of the Association,

Dr Abdulkarim

Kana, said that the conference featured many paper presentation on very tropical

issues aimed at employing law as a veritable tool for addressing the present

economic challenges faced by Nigerians.

Kana, who is also the Dean, Faculty of Law, Nasarawa State Univeristy, Keffi,

commended members of NALT for their commitment in order to improve on the

standard of legal profession and the standard of living of Nigerians.

``Conference is the high point of the activities of the association

every year and

NALT has been effective in the fulfilment of some of its objectives by

keeping alive

the spirit of legal research for the overall development of the

country," he said.