A Former Vice President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Monday Ubani has alleged that Governor Siminalayi Fubara will tender an apology to the former Attorney General of Rivers State, SAN Zacchaeus Adangor for claiming he paid money to become a Senior Advocate.
He argued that Governor Fubara, not being a lawyer, was not involved in the process of selecting individuals for the position. He emphasized that the conferment of SAN is based on merit, earned through a rigorous process, not monetary influence. As a lawyer with over 30 years of experience, he highlighted his own lack of attainment of the SAN rank despite his financial capacity.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, ”He’s not a lawyer and I don’t think he (Fubara) has been involved in the process of conferment of this position of silk to any of the lawyers. He’s not a lawyer and he was never involved in the process. That statement is clearly out of tune. He will tender an apology for that statement, I didn’t expect that from a governor.
And I don’t think that is actually what happened. It’s a statement that was made out of lack of knowledge. Any lawyer that is conferred with the SAN rank in Nigeria today earns it. It is given on merit because it’s a very rigorous process for you to be a Senior Advocate in Nigeria, you pass through a lot of processes and you must have fulfilled them before you are conferred with that rank. I am a lawyer for over 30 years at the bar and I have not gotten it. You don’t pay to get the SAN rank, I have the money to get it if it is by money. You have to earn it.”