deliver the Keynote Address at the virtual birthday celebration of
respected former Chairman of Nigeria’s Body of Benchers, Chief George
Uwechue SAN, FNIALS who clocks 82 years on Monday.
The event which is aimed to honour Chief Uwechue, a former Speaker Pro
Tempore of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, has as its theme “The
lawyer in Parliament: A catalyst in the legislative process.” The
birthday lecture is billed as a tour de force between politics,
lawyering and lawmaking. Chief Uwechue was the Deputy Leader of the
Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) Caucus and Chairman of the Public Petitions
Committee.
A statement by the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Chief Emeka
Ngige, SAN noted that “As Owelle was a lawyer-member of the House of
Representatives in the Second Republic, we consider the topic apposite
for the occasion, more so as Senator Ekweremadu is not only the
immediate past Deputy Senate President but is also a lawyer and has been
in the Senate for unbroken 17 years.”
The event which kicks off at 4:30 pm will be chaired by a renowned
senior lawyer, Senator Onyeabo Obi. It will witness goodwill messages
from political leaders and foremost jurists. It will also be streamed on
several social media channels as well as feature sensational
saxophonist, BeeJay Sax who is billed to thrill the global audience.
Chief Uwechue is adjudged one of Nigeria’s foremost jurists, with many
leading precedents to his credit. These include Magnusson v Koiki; NAS
LTD v BA PLC; Ashibuogwu v AG Bendel State, and the regularly referenced
Adeniyi v Governing Council of Yabatech which concurrent verdicts of the
trial court and Court of Appeal he upturned at the Supreme Court upon
being hired by the appellant.
A longstanding Faculty member at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced
Legal Studies (NIALS), Chief Uwechue was appointed as a Member of the
Rules of Court Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court between 1985 and
1986. He produced a draft review of the rules which was later subsumed
into the Supreme Court Rules 1999 (as amended).
Chief Uwechue, the “Owelle of Ogwashi Uku,” was born on 30th November
1938. He was a two-time member of the House of Representatives,
representing Aniocha Federal Constituency of former Bendel State on two
different party platforms. He rose to the pinnacle of the House
leadership following his assumption of office as the Speaker pro
Tempore.
Following the interruption of civil rule by the military, he returned to
law practice and again rose to the apogee of the legal profession with
his admission into the Inner Bar and his election as Chairman of the
Body of Benchers, the apex body that regulates the profession in
Nigeria.
He was admitted into the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Inns
of Court School of Law for the English Bar in February 1961 and passed
the “British Constitution” with distinction at the North-Western
Polytechnic, London. He repeated this uncommon feat at the Holborn
College of Law, Languages and Commerce wherein 1962 he again earned
Distinction in “Constitutional Law.” His teacher and one of the world’s
foremost constitutional lawyers, Prof. Ben Nwabueze SAN once described
Chief Uwechue as unarguably the best among his classmates. This was
during the launch of a compendium written by leading Nigerian jurists in
Uwechue’s honour.
Chief Uwechue enrolled at the London School of Economics and Political
Science courtesy of his mentor, Prof. Nwabueze, and in 1965 received his
Bachelor’s Degree in Law, graduating with Second Class Honours. He
returned to Nigeria the same year and enrolled at the Nigerian Law
School. Having passed the Bar Finals, Chief Uwechue was admitted to the
Nigerian Bar on January 21, 1966 – almost 55 years ago.