The outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okey Wali (SAN), has described the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Group, Dr. Wale Babalakin, as a pride to the legal profession in the country.
Wali, while inaugurating a six-storey, fully-serviced, new NBA House, on Victoria Island, Lagos on Tuesday, disclosed that the structure was realised through partnership between one of Babalakin’s companies, Stabilini Visinoni Limited, and the NBA.
The partnership, which was based on a Build, Operate and Transfer agreement, was conceived to help NBA develop the prime land that had laid bare for a long time and to also enhance the revenue base of the association.
Wali noted: “I must thank our colleague, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), for what he has done in putting this up in collaboration with the NBA. The terms are clear. It is a Build, Operate and Transfer. I thank Wale for the industry he has put into this.”
Wali equally expressed gratitude to the Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr. Tahir Mamman, as well as the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, Hon. O.C.J. Okocha (SAN), and other members for granting access to the new building through the law school premises.
Speaking further on the difficulty in creating access to the property, Babalakin observed: “This building was landlocked. The only way we could go in was if we were able to create that access you see now. And with his (Wali’s) determination; and the Director General of the Law School and the Chairman of Council of Legal Education; they made it happen.”
Babalakin also acknowledged Wali’s “thorough dedication” to the project, adding: “He came to Lagos specifically on a number of occasions, and I recollect with great appreciation and sometimes nostalgia how we walked round this premises, not once, not twice, when we were trying to identify the entry into the building.
“In the same vein, I want to thank our in-coming President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), who is here today and who has just won a very convincing victory. I have no doubt he has the capacity, he has the mental fortitude, and he has the determination to push the NBA to the next level.”
Others who witnessed the ceremony included the incoming General Secretary of the NBA, Afam Osigwe; National Treasurer, Joyce Oduah; a former General Secretary, Obi Okwusogu (SAN); and an Executive Committee member, Osita Okoro.