Dogara prepares for life after speakership; becomes notary public

… Promises to uphold ethics of law profession
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has taken oath as Notary Public before the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Monday.
The speaker who is a lawyer was administered the oath by the chief judge of the FCT Justice Ishaq I.U. Bello at the FCT High Court Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking shortly after taken the oath, the Speaker, expressed gratitude to the Chief justice of Nigeria Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen who approved the application.
‘We thank the CJN through you who has made this day possible, and we thank you profusely also for  this day,’ he said.
Speaking further, Dogara said, ‘I have listened to your charge and I thank you very much for your kind words. We will do everything to ensure that we keep the light burning even though this is coming at a time the profession has come under some challenges.’
‘I believe that some of us who are coming from behind you who have acquired the necessary training, will rise above the challenges to ensure our profession still retains the pride of place among all other professions.  So challenges will come but it’s the way we react to it that matters and I’m sure we will overcome .’
On his part, Justice Bello admonished Rt Hon Dogara  not to do anything that will impeach the credibility of his status as a notary public saying, ‘this is indeed a onerous task that requires a lot of modesty, impartial conduct and due diligence. Before you sign any document, you must examine it thoroughly and make sure that those elements which you said you’ll never accede to are not there.’
According to Justice Bello, ‘as a notary public, you are a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, power-of-attorney and foreign and international business.’
A notary’s main function is to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents.