PUC’s Visit to Bethesda Home For The Blind
PUC Women’s Visit to Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba
As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility and in line with our commitment towards celebrating the achievements of women, our PUC Women visited the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba to speak to students about embracing equity and empowering women. We had a great time engaging with the male and female students, sharing our experiences, and discussing ways to promote gender equality and equity.
We believe that every individual, regardless of gender, should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and by promoting equity, we can create a more just and inclusive society.
We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important cause, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to promote equity and diversity.
PUC International Women’s Day 2023 Celebration
On the 8th of March 2023, our PUC Women celebrated International Women’s Day.
The internal celebration in recognition of this year’s IWD theme: “Embrace Equity” was held to foster bonds, support and promote an inclusive environment where the PUC woman can effectively grow and achieve a peak in her career while maintaining work-life balance.
PUC women had the opportunity to have as the guest speaker for the event, the Founder, Women in Technology in Nigeria, Mrs. Martha Alade, a Technopreneur and IT consultant, who enlightened the women about the use of technology, AI and IT tools and it’s advantages in work, life and even family with focus on the topic, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”
The event also included games, bonding sessions, presentation of gifts and announcement of the winner of the first PUC IWD competition which centred on creating an innovative design with the IWD pose and a quote on this year’s theme.
Other images
At PUC, we continue to create a safe and enabling space for women as we strive to empower them for more.
See photos from the event below:
Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro Served as a Consultant of the IMO at the Regional Workshop for the Heads of Maritime Administrations
Our Managing Partner, Mrs Mfon Ekong Usoro served as a consultant of the International Maritime Organisation at the Regional workshop for the heads of Maritime Administrations(MARADs) organised by the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for West and Central African Region(Abuja MoU) in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) held on 9-11 May, 2022 at Eko Hotel, Lagos.
The Abuja MoU is one of the Nine(9) Regional MoUs established pursuant to the IMO Resolution A.682(17) of 1991 and implemented on the 22nd October, 1999 in Abuja covering 22 Countries with 18 of these countries having full member Status.
The workshop was established to reiterate and amplify the core objectives which informed the founding and establishment of the Abuja MoU which includes the elimination of substandard shipping, prevention of marine pollution and improvement of the living and working conditions of seafarers aboard ships.
On Day 1, our Managing Partner who has extensive National, regional, continental and international experience in the sector led conversations on the Responsibilities of MARADs as flag state to include implementation of the IMO and domestication of relevant international instruments, establishment of institutions for Enforcement as well as Evaluation and regular assessment of recognized organizations. She also discussed the responsibilities of Coastal States to include the need to guarantee right if Safe passage of ship, the obligation to prevent pollution and the provision for reception activities. Mrs Usoro further trained participants on Regional Port State Control (PSC) regimes highlighting the Status, need for harmonization and Co-operation with other PSC regimes.
On day 2, Mrs Usoro led the breakout sessions with Heads of MARADs to understand the challenges they face, their Expectations from Abuja MoU and the Expectation of Abuja MoU from MARADs.
On the third and final day, Mrs Usoro led the analysis of the annual report and presented the draft record of Action Plans for adoption by all participants.
As a remark, she reiterated the need for gender balance in the Maritime sector, applauded the countries with female representatives and encouraged others to open up the spaces for women to take advantage.
The workshop had in attendance 19 African Countries and also had in attendance Mr William Azuh, head of African Section, Technical Cooperation Division of the International Maritime Organisation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation as representative of the Honourable Minister for Transportation, the representative of the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), the Secretary General of the Abuja MoU, Captain Sunday Umoren and Captain Babacar Diop as the lead consultant of the IMO.
The frontline role of Mrs Usoro in the Maritime sector remains a great encouragement for women to take advantage in the space and would serve as an inspiration to others as the International Day for Women in Maritime is celebrated on 18th May, 2022.
Our Principal Partner, Paul Usoro, SAN Inaugurated as Chairman of the Board of Dakkada Luxury Estate, Akwa Ibom State
We are pleased to announce that our Principal Partner, Paul Usoro, SAN was inaugurated as the Chairman of the Board of Dakkada Luxury Estate by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel on Tuesday, 05 April 2022.
The 5-man board which is led by our Principal Partner is tasked with the responsibility of managing the luxury estate which will operate as a limited liability company without government’s expense. The need for the luxury estate is to expand the housing and educational facilities in order to accommodate the influx of people into the state.
The expertise of our Principal Partner in delivering this task is without a doubt and we are confident that the vision behind the establishment of the luxury estate would be achieved.
PUC Congratulates Our Partner, Mrs. Adetola Bucknor-Taiwo on the Success of the NBAWF International Women’s Day Conference
Paul Usoro & Co (“PUC”) was well represented at the 2022 edition of the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (NBAWF) held in commemoration of the International Women’s Day 2022.
PUC played a frontline role in the actualisation of the success of this year’s conference which was themed “The Invisible Hand of Gender Bias: Championing Collective Change” as we were privileged to have our partner, Mrs. Adetola Bucknor-Taiwo serve as the Chairperson of the Conference Planning Committee, assisted by our Associate Trainee, Unwanaobong Ekanem who also served as a member of the Logistics and Technical Sub-Committee. The Conference featured a total of six plenary sessions on topics ranging from the “Hidden Biases in Courtroom Dynamics: Gender and the Judiciary” to “Shattering Stereotypes: Heels in the Boardroom – A Case for Navigating or Negotiating the Corporate Ladder”.
It is worthy to note that the NBAWF was inaugurated in September 2019 by our Principal Partner, Paul Usoro, SAN during his tenure as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association.
PUC is dedicated to creating a culture where everyone regardless of gender, is given equal opportunity to thrive and we will do our part in support of the fight against stereotypes and biases especially in the workplace.
PUC Facilitates Training on the Legal Framework for Combating Piracy and Other Maritime Crimes in Nigeria
Paul Usoro & Co. (“PUC”) was engaged by the Federal Ministry of Transport (“FMOT”), Nigeria to facilitate a 2-day training on the legal framework for combating piracy and other maritime crimes in Nigeria.
The training came up on the 26 – 27th of January 2022 in Abuja and covered the historical perspective to piracy, the substantive law on piracy in Nigeria (Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act 2019) and the practice and procedure of prosecuting maritime offences in Nigeria.
The PUC team at the training was led by our Managing Partner, Mrs. Mfon Usoro and the presentations were delivered by our Partner, Mrs. Adetola Bucknor-Taiwo, Senior Associate, Mr. Ime Edem Nse and Navy Captain Warradi Enisuoh as a guest speaker.
The event was insightful and well received by the participants.
2021 Lawyers Table Tennis Open (Mfon Usoro Cup)
PUC was present at the finals for the 2021 Lawyers Table Tennis Open (Mfon Usoro Cup). Our Managing Partner, Mfon Usoro, was present to cheer the contestants on and present awards to the winners.
PUC At The Nigeria International Maritime Summit (NIMS) 2021
Paul Usoro & Co was present at the recently concluded (5-6 October 2021) inaugural edition of the The Nigeria International Maritime Summit (NIMS) as a Platinum Sponsor.
Our Managing Partner, Mfon Ekong Usoro, was present as the Session Chair for the Opening Keynote Session – “Becoming a Significant Maritime Nation.” She also serves as the chairman of the Board of Governance at NIMS.
The event was very enlightening and featured engaging sessions that drew local and international professionals from the private and public sectors. Attendance was a combination of physical and virtual.
2021 PUC Challenge Winners
Following several entries and a rigorous screening exercise, two winners emerged emerged from the 2021 edition of the ‘PUC Challenge’ organized by our prestigious Law Firm.
This year’s edition centered on essay entries on the Court of Appeal decision in James v Governor of Edo State (2021) LPELR – 54203 (CA) which borders on the pronouncement that executive declarations on restriction of movements must be made pursuant to a written law before it can be effective or have legal sanctions. The exercise is an initiative to encourage young lawyers to acquaint themselves with our judicial system and to test their legal skills.
The lucky winners were selected after entries received were evaluated by a panel of independent judges comprising of 3 learned Silks; Mr Adeniyi Adegbonmire, SAN; Mr. Olumide Aju, SAN & Mr. Bode Olanipekun, SAN.
The first prize winner is Sylvester Isaac Agih, a lawyer who works with a Non-Governmental Organization with passion for rendering pro bono services. Sylvester received a cash prize of N150,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) while Adeyemi Ayeku, the First runner up who works with a Law Firm in Lagos, received the sum of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira).
In order to further encourage these young brilliant minds, on Wednesday, 29 September 2021, our Senior Partner, Paul Usoro, SAN prior to the presentation of the cash awards to the winners had impactful discussions with them on their essays and their future ambitions.
We at PUC wish them the best in their future endeavours.
