Don’t Inaugurate Council Of Members Of ARCON — Law Firm Cautions Minister Of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola

Minister for Works and Housing and former Lagos State Governor, His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has been warned to refrain from inaugurating new Council members of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) come Tuesday, 21/12/2021 whilst a Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction against the inauguration is pending before the Federal High Court, Abuja. In a letter by an Abuja-based law firm: Boni Consilii LLP dated Friday, 16/12/2021 and sighted by The Lawyer, the Minister was cautioned on the consequences of inaugurating the new Council members during the pendency of both the substantive civil suit and the Motion on Notice.

It is learnt that there has been a subsisting crisis in the architectural profession over the status of a registered entity known as the Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Institute of Architects who had been claiming to be the Nigerian Institute of Architects mentioned in the Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap A19, L.F.N., 2004. The Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Institute of Architects as records showed, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in November, 2013 while the Nigerian Institute of Architects that is mentioned in the Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap A19, L.F.N., 2004 was made as far back as 1990. This led a civil suit to be commenced against ARCON, the Minister of Works and Housing, the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, the Corporate Affairs Commission and 3 Ors by the Association of Nigerian Chartered Architects (ANCA) before the Federal High Court sitting at Abuja in Suit No.: FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2021 between Incorporated Trustees of Association of Nigerian Chartered Architects (ANCA) vs. Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) & 6 Ors. (the Suit). In the Suit, the existential status of the Incorporate Trustees of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and another company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as Nigerian Institute of Architects mentioned under the Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap A19, L.F.N., 2004 were questioned.

By virtue of Section 2(2) of Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap A19, L.F.N., 2004, membership of ARCON are composed of 4 persons to be appointed by the Nigerian Institute of Architects, among others. The Letter accused the Minister of having commenced the preliminaries to the reconstitution of ARCON sometime in August, 2021 when his office requested for, and received nomination of candidates from the Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Institute of Architects and other bodies. The Plaintiff (ANCA) filed an application for an order to restrain the Minister and ARCON from reconstituting and inaugurating ARCON pending the final determination of the Suit. It is gathered from the Letter that the Minister has been served the Motion on Notice and a lawyer from his Ministry had not only entered appearance but filed and exchanged respective processes, while a date has been slated for hearing. The law firm which is representing ANCA in the Suit alleged in the Letter that in spite of the subsistence of the Suit and the Motion on Notice for Injunction, the Minister had, through his officers perfected plans to inaugurate new Council members of ARCON on 21/12/2021.

The Minister was further reminded of the position of the law in Gov., Lagos State vs. Ojukwu (1986) 1 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 18) p. 621 @ 637 and Okeke-Ogba vs. Okoye (1994) 8 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 364) p. 605 @ 617-619 to the net effect that where a suit and application for an order for interlocutory injunction is pending, all activities affecting the res are automatically terminated as a mark of respect to the court before whom the application is pending and the hands of the defendant who has notice are effectually tied pending a hearing and determination even though no restraining order be issued.

The Letter which was copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice and signed by C.E.C. Njoku, Esq. (the Principal Partner of the firm) cautioned the Minister to be wary of participating in conducts that will run contrary to the staunch commitment to the defence of the rule of law of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration by inaugurating the new Council members of ARCON on Tuesday, 21/12/2021. It ended by asserting its willingness to carrying out its client’s instruction of initiating contempt proceedings against the Minister, among other options, should the Minister defiantly proceed with the inauguration and reconstitution of ARCON.