Speaker Bagbin Backs UBIDS’ Bid to Train Lawyers, Pledges Government Support for Infrastructure
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has assured the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies of government support to address its infrastructure challenges while endorsing the university’s bid to become one of the institutions accredited to run Ghana’s new Bar Practice Programme for law graduates.
Speaking as the keynote speaker at the Second Congregation of the School of Law and the Special Graduation Ceremony of the School of Graduate Studies in Wa on Saturday, Rt Hon. Bagbin said the government remained committed to strengthening public tertiary education institutions across the country.
Infrastructure Development
Addressing the gathering, which included the Chairman of the University Governing Council, Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, Vice-Chancellor, Prof Emmanuel Kunchebe Derbile, government officials, faculty, graduands and their families, the Speaker acknowledged the numerous infrastructure challenges confronting the university.
He cited inadequate lecture halls, student accommodation, office space, research facilities, roads and recreational infrastructure as key concerns requiring urgent attention.
He also pointed to several uncompleted projects on campus and stressed the need for a perimeter wall to protect the university from encroachment.
Speaker Bagbin expressed confidence that the government’s ongoing programme to complete stalled tertiary education projects would significantly improve UBIDS’ infrastructure within the next two years.
He also welcomed the Education Minister’s recent announcement of financial support for distressed public universities, describing it as timely relief for UBIDS, which has struggled with inadequate funding since its establishment after its separation from the University for Development Studies.
Support for Expansion and Medical School
The Speaker threw his support behind the university’s plans to establish additional academic units, including Schools of Medical Sciences, Tourism and Hospitality, and Property Sciences, as well as Faculties of Health Sciences, Agriculture and Food Processing, and Extraction Sciences.
At the proposed Medical School, Bagbin disclosed that efforts were underway to upgrade the Upper West Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital.
As part of that initiative, six dialysis machines are expected to be installed at the facility this year through the support of Members of Parliament from the Upper West Region.
He further revealed that he had facilitated a partnership between UBIDS and the Gulf Medical University to support the establishment of a medical school that would train healthcare professionals for the Upper West Region and the country at large.
According to him, he led a delegation—including the President of the Medical and Dental Council, Divine Ndondi Banyubala; the Chairman of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Board, Prof Titus Beyuo; and the Provost of the University of Ghana Medical School—to Ajman to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the initiative.
Endorses UBIDS’ Bid to Train Lawyers
Addressing the graduating law students, Mr Bagbin highlighted the significance of the recently passed Legal Education Reform Act, 2026 (Act 1170), which ended the monopoly of the Ghana School of Law in professional legal training.
Under the new law, accredited universities will be permitted to offer a one-year Bar Practice Programme for their LLB graduates before they sit a standardised national bar examination for enrolment as lawyers.
The Speaker said he was aware that UBIDS was positioning itself to become one of the first five universities to receive accreditation and pledged his full support for the university’s bid, describing it as the leading law school in northern Ghana.
He also donated law books to the Faculty of Law and announced plans to meet the University’s Governing Council later this month or in early August to discuss additional support for the institution.
Commends University’s Resilience
Speaker Bagbin praised the University’s Governing Council, management, faculty and students for building a strong institution despite years of financial and infrastructural constraints following its separation from UDS.
He encouraged the university to deepen its focus on applied research, entrepreneurship, public policy and community engagement, particularly in addressing the development needs of northern Ghana.
Advice to Graduands
Congratulating the graduating students, their parents and guardians, the Speaker urged the new graduates to uphold discipline, integrity and professionalism as they begin the next chapter of their lives.
He called on them to use the knowledge and skills they had acquired to serve their communities and contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s development, while reaffirming his vision of building a nation that is “peaceful, clean, prosperous, inclusive, innovative, free and just.”
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