The electoral committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) has announced Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya as the 33rd president of the law associa
The electoral committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) has announced Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya as the 33rd president of the law association.
Announcing the results at the NBA national secretariat in Abuja after the conclusion of the election on Sunday, Aham Ejelam, chairman of the ECNBA, said Badejo-Okusanya polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 percent of the total votes cast, to defeat her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, who secured 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 percent.
Also elected were Oghenero Okoro, who polled 11,024 votes to emerge first vice-president; Afam Okeke, who secured 8,478 votes to become general secretary; Aghogho Gladys, who won the assistant general secretary position with 14,312 votes; and Chinelo Ofoegbunam, who was elected welfare secretary after polling 14,911 votes.
Speaking after the announcement of the results, Afam Osigwe, president of the NBA, said the election withstood attempts to undermine the process, including a cyberattack that forced the ECNBA to rebuild and migrate its ICT infrastructure to a more secure server.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed. This is a trying time for the Bar. In the build-up to this election, many went to a great extent to rubbish the association,” he said.
Osigwe urged the newly elected national officers to be gracious in victory and called on those who lost the election to rally behind the incoming leadership.
“Someday, the story will be told of how this election was almost sabotaged. We must be able to promote the rule of law, and the NBA, made up of lawyers, should be able to determine the course of its electoral process. Where we made mistakes, I believe my successor will correct them. Winners should extend the hands of fellowship to those who lost and have a united front to move the Bar forward. The unity of the Bar cannot and should never be negotiated. As I now bow out, I wish the new EXCO all the very best in office. May we never see the day when those who lead us will be elected by people other than lawyers.”
Osigwe added that the ECNBA would undertake a comprehensive review of the election, with a focus on the challenges encountered during the exercise, to strengthen future NBA polls and improve the association’s cybersecurity and electoral process.
