Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has announced the introduction of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Rules 2025, requiring all legal practitioners in Nigeria to earn a minimum of five CPD credit hours annually.
Speaking at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State, Osigwe unveiled a modernized framework aimed at entrenching professionalism and excellence, including digitalized annual practice licenses and a publicly accessible practicing list.
Osigwe emphasized that the MCPD Rules are designed to ensure lawyers maintain and enhance their legal knowledge, skills, and professional standards throughout their careers. “We introduced the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Rules 2025, which now require all legal practitioners to earn a minimum of five CPD credit hours annually, a step to entrench professionalism and excellence in the legal sector,” he stated. The credits can be earned through approved NBA-ICLE courses, seminars, workshops, webinars, and publishing articles, ensuring lawyers stay current with legal developments and uphold professional ethics.
To further modernize legal practice, Osigwe announced the digitalization of the annual practice license, a first in recent years, alongside the publication of the annual practicing list on the NBA Portal (https://www.nigerianbar.org.ng). Starting next year, only lawyers who earn the minimum five CPD points and pay their practicing fees on time will receive the digitalized license and have their names listed. “From next year, only persons who earn the minimum of 5 CPD points and pay their practicing fee as at when due will be issued the digitalised annual practice license and have their name published on the annual practicing list,” Osigwe declared.
The initiative reflects the NBA’s commitment to elevating standards and ensuring accountability within the legal profession. Osigwe urged lawyers to visit https://www.nbaicle.org/trainings for upcoming training opportunities to meet the CPD requirements, reinforcing that the new system will foster a culture of continuous learning and professionalism.