Nigerian Architects Lose Bid To Dissolved it Regulatory Body

Four notable Nigerian architects, who sought to get a judicial verdict to dissolve their regulatory body, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), have lost that bid.

In a suit instituted by  Tonye Braide, Abimbola Ajayi, David Majekodunmi and Dike Emmanuel against ARCON, the plaintiffs, sought among others a legal pronouncement that the present ARCON had since been dissolved, but the court ruled otherwise.  

Justice Hadiza Shagari of a Federal High Court, Lagos, concluded that the case was unmeritorious and consequently dismissed it. 

While Braide was the immediate past president, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Ajayi was the General Secretary and Majekodunmi the Chairman of the Students Affairs Committee. Emmanuel was the Chairman, International Affairs Committee in the last executive members of the professional group.

To clear the air over the heated controversy surrounding reports on the court case, the current NIA president, Adibe Njoku said that the plaintiffs in the case went to court in their personal capacity.

According to him, the case has nothing to do with NIA, as there was no time the council of the professional body endorsed the legal action against ARCON. 

Njoku said NIA, as a body never initiated any suit against ARCON in the recent time, describing reports that NIA sued ARCON as misleading.

NIA Emergency General Meeting (EGM) 29-7-17

…demands that the Ministry of Works Minister be brought in.
…condemns the extortion of Final Examination fees from Final year students of Architecture.

Submitted by Abdulrasaq A. Usman.

Amidst agitations, suits, counter suits, and most recently the court injunction that sought to prevent this meeting and it’s ARCON ACT ammendment agenda from seeing the light of day, the NIA (Nigerian Institute of Architects)  has gone ahead with the meeting and successfully arrived at seemingly positive resolutions.

Summary of the NIA Emergency General Meeting convened at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, on July 29, 2017.

Agenda of the meeting was as follows;

1. Opening prayer
2. National Anthem
3. Amendment of ARCON Act CAP19 LFN 2004
4. Issues with ARCON
5. Presentation of proposed review of NIA constitution
6. Follow-up
7. A. O. B

From Item 3 ( Amendment of ARCON Act CAP19 LFN 2004)
It was suggested that all resolutions therefrom shall be submitted to the Constitution Amendment committee.

Arc Christopher Orji suggested that after the advised submission, the committee must return to the House to interpret same document to everyone before it would be passed into law.

Item 4. (ISSUES WITH ARCON)

• Introduction of Architects Competence Programme ( ACP 1.0 )
• Introduction of Architects Regularization (ARP)
• Non-registeration of qualified members as stipulated by the Laws
• Introduction of activities by ARCON not contained in the ACT
• Extortion of Final Examination fees from Final year students of Architecture outside regular University exam procedures.

Suggestions:
Arc Solomon Adeyinka Ogunseye suggested that

• Ministry of Works Minister must be brought into this matter and must be present during a ‘reconciliation’ meeting between the NIA and ARCON.
• that there should be a college of past Presidents of the NIA and nobody should spent more than 2-3years in office.

While Arc Emmanuel Olakanmi Fadele and Arc Olufemi Adetokunbo Majekodunmi supported Ogunseye’s suggestion in their submissions, Arc Osi added to it by suggesting that the immediate past president should become ARCON president whereas the ARCON president’s tenure will as well not be more than two years.

Arc Tokumbo Omisore making his submissions.

Arc Olayemi, Arc Tom Ibe, Arc Christopher Orji, Arc Fawode and others suggested that there be the establishment of an elders forum which, if any matter as this arises in the future, would be called upon to deliberate, mediate and profer workable solutions.

Arc David Majekodunmi while speaking also, says a resolution is most needed, and his suggestion was thus;

Arc David Majekodunmi addressing participants.

• Unconditional registration of PPE successful candidates of September 2016, March 2017 and forthcoming exam by ARCON
• Apart from the issues of registration, NIA should write to ARCON to stop extorting money from final year students of Architecture.
• This EGM (Emergency General Meeting) report should be published in select national dailies.

As the meeting progressed, and after the Osun state Chapter chairman of NIA demanded that both ARP and PPE candidates must be registered, a resolution was passed where everyone supported the first 3 resolutions above as put up by Arc David Majekodunmi.

In his closing remarks, the NIA President Arc Tonye Braide advised that we follow the court order that says both bodies shall follow the existing stereoscope which says upon passing the PPE final exams you’re eligible to be full member of NIA and being recognized by ARCON.

 Arc Tonye Braide addressing the architects.

He also assured that both councils shall constitute a meeting, hopefully within a month, that is before the month of August ends.

To move for adjournment and closing, NIA 2nd vice president in his own view requested that the two bodies should look for ways to resolve issues early in order to fashion ways and make it easier for young Graduate Architects who wish to be registered to do so.
He noted that the percieved or real difficulty experienced by the Nigerian Architect during professional registration leaves the body entirely at the losing end in what it’s otherwise entitled to in all Ministries.

Source : Archfiler.com