Paul Obi (SAN)
A legal practitioner with specialisation in Oil & Gas, Paul Obi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has stressed the need for the refinery in Port Harcourt should have been made to work alongside Dangote’s refinery.
Fielding questions from newsmen after been conferred the prestigious rank of SAN by the Legal Practitioner Privileges Committee at the Supreme Court in Abuja, Obi whose over three decades stint in the bar has transverse the hydrocarbon industry said the coming of Dangote refinery is a big boost to the nation’s economy .
According to him, more private sector inroads into petroleum products refinery is apt stressing that making such refinery operates alongside with other refineries like the Port Harcourt one owned by Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) would be a great game changer in the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Obi who is the company secretary to NIPCO Plc explained that by doing so, Nigeria would have functional private and public refineries, which would have averted the suffering that Nigerians are currently experiencing.
He said “It is good that government is trying to do the right thing, they have embraced Dangote refinery, supplying crude to them in naira, that frees the pressure in the foreign exchange in the country if one or two of the refineries work alongside with Dangote, the pressure we are having in that sector will certainly reduce if not wiped off”.
Speaking on the current selection process in SAN rank by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, he said it’s okay in the overall interest of the profession
Obi who is also the managing partner P.C .OBI & CO said that although the SAN rank entails a rigorous process to acquire, he wouldn’t suggest a reform.
Defending the current process, Obi who is the company secretaries to NIPCO Plc among other blue chip companies said its very apt and commendable
Obi who has garnered 34 years experience as a lawyer before being conferred with the prestigious title advised lawyers who intend to apply for the SAN title to ensure they meet the requirements before making their application to avoid rejection and multiple applications.
“I applied for the rank the first time and got it because I wanted to dot all the I’s, and cross all the Ts, I had read the guidelines and followed the rules, procedure, processes, I studied them well made sure all my cases are in order because I didn’t want to go this route a second time because there are lawyers who have attempted this up to seven times.
“The procedure is rigorous. I had to go to Kano, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, Port-Harcourt, I did cases in all jurisdiction just to make sure that the 20 number of cases that were required at the high court, 5 at the Court of Appeal, 4 at the Supreme Court, were all done personally by me and it wasn’t easy.
“It is not only me who applied for the first time and got it, there are other people who applied once and got it so, if you are technically qualified the process is rigorous but it has a high degree of integrity. It could be fine tuned here and there but all in all, it is a very transparently credible process,” Obi said.
Obi speaking further, hailed the introduction of the ‘New Supreme Court Rules’ noting that combined with the full complement of 21 justices of the apex court bench, justice delivery will no longer take as much time as it use to.
He added: “The CJN talked about a new Supreme Court rules, that is not available yet but from the snippets we have read and the summaries we have got, the CJN said those innovations they put in there will certainly help speed up the administration of justice and for the first time the Supreme Court has the full complement of 21 justices, it has never happened before for a long time but now it’s there. Those cases that use to stay for so long for years won’t be staying that long again”.
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