Every contract is an agreement but not all agreements are contract.

Discuss with judicial

statutory authorities of any.
The development of society and expansion of human needs necessitated interdependence
among man. In order to satisfy his ambitions, aspirations and needs, he then through mutual
arrangements, engages the services of others. Whether these arrangements are contract or mere
agreement depend on their legal recognition.
A contract is an agreement which the law will enforce or recognize as affecting the legal
rights and duties of the parties. A contract can also he defined as a promise or a set of promises
the law will enforce.
According to the contract act 1872, an agreement enforceable by law is a contract. An
agreement is a promise or set of promises without legal implications.
Or a contract to be there an agreement is essential: without an agreement, there cannot
contract. It could well be said where there is contract, there is agreement a contract has the
following elements;
Offer: an offer may be defined as a definite undertaking or promise made by one party
with the intention that it shall become binding on the party making it as soon as it is
accepted by the party to whom it is addressed.
Acceptance: in orient Bank (Nig.) plc. V. Bilante international ltd [1997] 8 NWLR (pt.
515) p.37. the court defined acceptance as a reciprocal act or action of the offeree to the
offer in which he indicated his agreement to the terms of the offer a conveyed to him by
the offeror. Putting it in another language, acceptance is the act of compliance on the part
of the offeree with the terms of the offer. It is the element of acceptance, that underscores
the bilateral nature of a contract.
Consideration: in currie v. misa (1875) L.R. 10 exch. 153 at p. 162. The court defined
consideration this;
A valuable consideration in the eye of te law may consist eight in
some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to the one party, or
one forbearance, detriment, loss or recognizibility, given, suffered
or undertaken by the other. Thus, consideration does but also exists
where the other party avandons some legal rights in the present, or
limits his legal freedom of action in the future as an inducement for
the promise of the first so it is irrelevant whether one party benefits
but enough that the party giving it does thereby undertake some
burden, of value.
Intention of enter into legal relation: this means that the parties must intended that their
relation must have legal consequences. In other words, the parties to a contract must have
intend their relation be redressible when flouted by any of the parties.

All these elements of contract as defined above must exist concurrently for a contract to evolved.
The absence of one is fatal to the forination of a contract. From the above therefore, in every
contract there is essentially.
i.
An agreement and
ii.
Legal obligation that is, a duty enforceable by law.
Example;
A promises to sell a horse to B for 1000, and B promise to buy same at the price.
This create an agreement and obligation on both sides to supply and pay accordingly.
As stated earlier an agreement to become a contract must give rise to a legal obligation. If
an agreement is incapable of creating a duty enforceable by law, it is not a contract. Thus, an
agreement is a hider term them a contract. An agreement moral, religious or social nature are
domestic or social engagements and intention to enter into legal relation. These are mere
agreements without legal relation or consequences. For example, a promise to lunch at a friends
house is not a contract because they are not likely to create a duty enforceable by law for the
single reason that the parties never intended that they thruld be attended by legal consequences.
Thus, in Balfour by v. Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571, a Britonwas employed by the government of
Ceylon. He returned home on leave with his wife, but the latter was unable to go back his Ceylon
with him because of ill-health. He then promised to make her an allowance of 30 pounds a mouth
until she joined him. When he failed to make his payment, she fued him to enforce the promise
the court held the there was no contract between the parties because the contracted intention is
absent in cases between husbands and wives. Note that the principle of law that social and
domestic agreements are not legally binding is based in a presumption. Consequenlly, the
presumption can be rebutted and when this happens, such an agreement will be held binding. For
example, when the relationship between couples degenerated to the level of hostility and
distrust, agreement them would be binding. Thus, in McGregor V. Mcgregor (1881) 21 Q.
B.D424, where a husband and his wife had taken out cross-fummouses against each other for
assault, it was agreed in settlement that each should withdraw his or her action, the parties should
line apart and that the husband should pay the wife a weekly sum for the maintenance of herself
and the children. This agreement was held binding on the husband. The presumption of absence
of contracted intention was rebutted by the hostile relations between the parties.
In conclusion, in a nut shell, an agreement is the basis of a contract and contract id
agreement starts from an offer and ends on consideration while a contract has to achieve another
milestone that is agreement does not provides to legal remedy to the aggrieved party while
breach of contract provides legal legal remedy to the aggrieved party against the guity party.
Thus, we can say that all contracts are agreements but all agreements are not contract.
REFERENCE
Sagay 1. Nigeria Law of Contract 2nd edn Ibadan: spectrum books ltd, 1985.

Law Use Act, Nigeria Law, Land use Decree No. 6g 1978