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8 months ago
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The Federal Government has backtracked on its previous announcement regarding the legal aspects of the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership inked with the United Kingdom on Tuesday.
This change of stance follows widespread criticism from Nigerians regarding the perceived imbalance of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the UK.
In a thread on X, Nigerian Minister for Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, rescinded her earlier statement, clarifying that there was no such legal agreement between Nigeria and the UK.
She stated, “Earlier today, Nigeria signed a far-reaching MoU with the United Kingdom for Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership. Regrettably, our earlier report erroneously suggested that Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding that allows lawyers licensed in the United Kingdom to practice in Nigeria. We wish to state emphatically that there is no such provision or agreement in the MoU.”
The minister reiterated that Nigeria does not have a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the UK and has made no commitments under the MOU or elsewhere to permit UK-licensed lawyers to practice in Nigeria.
“As it currently stands, foreign licensed lawyers (including those licensed in the UK) cannot practice in Nigeria, as categorically stated in the MoU. We recognize that cross-jurisdictional practice between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is still an ongoing conversation amongst relevant stakeholders within the legal practitioners community in Nigeria, and this was reflected in the MoU,” she added.
Previously, a statement from the UK’s Department of Business and Trade, along with a tweet from Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, had indicated that Nigeria was entering into an agreement to eliminate barriers preventing UK lawyers from practicing international law in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Bar Association had also criticized the purported agreement, denouncing the statement attributed to the minister as “ridiculous, unpatriotic, and uninformed.”
