THE President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has vowed to lead with integrity, courage, humility, fairness and accountability, promising to be “a president for every member” of the NBA.
Badejo-Okusanya assured that her administration would focus on creating an association where lawyers can “earn better, live better and practise better,” saying with the election concluded, “the work begins now.”
She expressed gratitude to members of the association for electing her to lead the Bar, describing her victory as a mandate to build a stronger, more inclusive and responsive NBA.
In a message of appreciation after the election, Badejo-Okusanya said she was humbled by the confidence reposed in her and thanked members for embracing her campaign vision of “A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone.”
She said her nationwide engagement with lawyers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during the campaign provided valuable insights into the concerns and aspirations of members, adding that those conversations would shape her administration.
The president-elect extended appreciation to all lawyers who participated in the election, irrespective of the candidates they supported, stressing that the contest was over and that the Association must now move forward as one united association committed to promoting the legal profession, justice and the rule of law.
She congratulated her fellow contestants for contributing to what she described as a robust democratic process and expressed readiness to work with them in advancing the objectives of the Association.
Badejo-Okusanya acknowledged the contributions of members of the BBOLD Campaign Council, volunteers, coordinators and supporters, her family, mentors and friends, with special appreciation to her husband for his support throughout the campaign.
The only female among the three presidential candidates, she reportedly polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 ballots cast, to emerge winner in the election conducted through electronic voting for 24 hours, from 7:35a.m. on Saturday, July 18, to 7:34 a.m. on Sunday, July 19.
She defeated her two challengers, Lateef Akangbe, who polled 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 per cent, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, another SAN, who polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent, based on the final tally on the Live Election Results dashboard maintained by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), even as criticism continues to trail the exercise.
With her victory, Badejo-Okusanya becomes the 33rd President of the legal association and the second female to lead the NBA since its formation in 1933, after Priscilla Kuye, who was the first woman president 35 years ago.
Other national officers elected during the poll include Oghenero Okoro as the first vice-president; Egya Nuhu John, second vice president; Pepple Irene, third vice president; Afam Okeke, general secretary; Aghogho Gladys Okpomor, assistant general secretary; Esther Ifeoma Jimoh, treasurer; Audrey Chinelo Ofoegbunam, welfare secretary; Prince I. Azubuike, publicity secretary; and Uwomano Anthony Junior Aki, assistant public secretary
The three others elected to represent the NBA at the General Council of the Bar are Chidi Betsy Nnaji (Eastern Zone), Rotimi Komolafe (Western Zone) and Huwaila Muhammad Ibrahim (Northern Zone).
The elected officers would be sworn in at the Annual General Conference of the association scheduled for August 21 to 28 August in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for two-year tenure.
Meanwhile, Akinboro and Akangbe have raised concerns about the fairness of the process, even as Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) said its voting platform was targeted by a coordinated cyber-attack shortly before polls were due to open, delaying the start of voting.
Akangbe, in particular, described the exercise as “shambolic” and “a shame to the Bar,” questioning its credibility in a statement on his X handle shortly after the poll ended, also called the election.”
While thanking lawyers across the country for participating in the exercise, despite the challenges, he said thousands of lawyers stayed awake through the night in an effort to vote, but were unable to do so because of repeated authentication failures, error messages and the collapse of the electronic voting platform.
He questioned the ECNBA’s decision to move the election from July 20 to July 18 without the approval of the NBA National Executive Council (NEC), saying an agreement reached on July 15 to postpone the poll by one week to allow lawyers to become familiar with the newly introduced SMS authentication system was not honoured.
Akangbe argued that the voting platform collapsed shortly after voting commenced and the ECNBA’s explanation that the disruption resulted from a cyber-attack failed to explain what he described as poor preparation and inadequate capacity.
He claimed that he was unable to cast his own vote, despite repeated attempts, and efforts by the ECNBA chairperson and NBA president to assist him with multiple voting links were unsuccessful.
Akangbe argued that the approximately 27 per cent voter turnout reflected voter suppression, rather than voter apathy, saying thousands of willing lawyers were locked out of the platform because of technical failures.
He reiterated allegations that the ECNBA breached its revised electronic voting guidelines by sending one-time passwords (OTPs) through email, instead of SMS, contrary to assurances given to members less than 24 hours before the election.
He also stated that the electronic ballot initially displayed only Badejo-Okusanya’s photograph, while the photographs of the other two candidates, including his, were either omitted or failed to render until after concerns had been raised.
Akangbe also alleged that there were credible reports of multiple voting on the platform, contrary to the principle of one member, one vote, arguing that the election could not pass any credibility test, adding that he was reviewing all available options with his team and would announce his next steps after completing that process.
