Konrad Adenauer Stifung, a German Foundation has engaged Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja to provide training on legislative drafting for staff of the Federal Ministry of Justice for his expertise as one of the leading lawyers in the field of legislative drafting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training funded by the German Foundation held at the Fraser Suites Hotel in Abuja from 5th to 6th December 2022.
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja was engaged to provide training for lawyers and staff of the Federal Ministry of Justice, National Assembly and the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
Dr. Jaja was assigned to train the participants on two technical topics in Legislative Drafting namely “how to use mathematical formulae, graphs and charts in legislative drafting” and ” drafting of licensing legislation”.
Participants were thrilled as Dr. Jaja introduced them to the methods to apply to achieve the drafting of effective legislation in the two areas. Dr. Jaja provided ample examples of existing legislation and case law from Nigeria and Ghana to buttress the points.
It is instructive that even though Dr. Jaja was on his annual sabbatical leave, he was still invited to deliver the said lectures, this is in recognition of his preeminent position as one of the two Nigerian lawyers to be awarded a PhD in Legislative Drafting degree by the University of London.
Jaja is the Secretary of the Association of Legislative Drafters and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), a not-for-profit organisation established in the year 2017 and accredited by the Nigerian Bar Association’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education as providers of Continuing Legal Education, in pursuance of Rule 11 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.
ALDRAP has over 600 registered members who are lawyers that are employed at the National Assembly of Nigeria, and the State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria. The membership of the Association cut across many countries in Africa including: Republic of The Gambia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Lesotho among others.
In fostering the object of the association, the group remains committed to training and re-training lawyers in the field of Legislative Drafting which is an area of law that has received little attention in Nigeria notwithstanding its significance in the development of the legal system.
