Amidst internal wranglings and an initial technical glitch that nearly marred its election, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Sunday, announced the successful completion of its 2026 national officers’ election.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the NBA, Chief Aham Ejelam, SAN, returned Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as the winner of the presidential seat.
Announcing results of the election on Sunday, Ejelam, SAN, declared that Mrs Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, polled a total of 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent, to defeat her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who garnered 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 per cent of the total votes cast.
Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, another candidate in the presidential election contest, polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent, and taking third position.
The Electoral Committee chairman said that a total of 26,106 votes were recorded during the highly contested presidential election.
With her victory, Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, will become the 33rd president of the legal association.
Meanwhile, Mr Afam Okeke was elected the general secretary of the legal body, having polled a total of 8,478 votes to defeat his opponents.
All the elected officials will be in office for a two-year period that will span from 2026 to 2028.
Although the president-elect, Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, was absent at the venue when the result of the election was announced at the NBA headquarters in Abuja, a member of her campaign team, Mr Aminu Gadanya, SAN, who revealed that she had a flight delay, conveyed her resolve to extend a “handshake of friendship” to all the aggrieved candidates.
In his remarks after the results were announced, the outgoing President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, noted that the election faced several challenges that included a cyber attack that almost derailed the electoral process.
“Many went to a grave extent to truncate the electoral process. Even though they maligned the process with their utterances, we held firm. Every effort to derail the process failed,” Osigwe, SAN, stated.
He urged the winners to be magnanimous in victory, warning they should celebrate moderately.
“This is a trying time for the Bar. Many persons may still go to great extent to rubbish the association. However, this is time for healing. At the end of the day, let the Bar be the winner,” Osigwe, SAN, added.
He said the ECNBA will carry out an in-depth analysis, especially the challenges encountered, so as to come up with recommendations that will engender greater confidence in the association’s electoral process.
“The cyberattack shows that we must do more not only for data protection but also to protect our electoral integrity. We must insulate our electoral process from such activities.
“Someday the story will be told of how the ICT system had to be rebuilt and moved to a safer server to ensure that the election held.
“The Bar must always protect its independence and eternally determine the course of its electoral process,” the outgoing NBA president added.
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