Badejo-Okusanya Extends Lead in NBA Presidential Election with 10,554 Votes
By Victor Idajili
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, on Saturday evening strengthened her lead in the Nigerian Bar Association presidential election, edging closer to becoming the association’s first elected female president.
She is contesting to succeed the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN.
As of 7:30pm, results on the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, ECNBA, election portal showed Badejo-Okusanya with 10,554 votes, representing 46.16% of votes counted.
Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, polled 7,020 votes or 30.70%, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, had 5,289 votes, representing 23.13%.
A total of 22,863 votes had been counted. Badejo-Okusanya’s lead over Akangbe widened to more than 3,500 votes.
Earlier results released at 11:33am had her in front with 4,860 votes or 41.77%, followed by Akangbe with 3,851 votes or 33.10%, and Akinboro with 2,924 votes or 25.13%.
Final results were still being awaited at the time of filing this report, but the trend shows the legal body is swinging in favour of Badejo-Okusanya.
The development comes a day after NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, dismissed claims that he was trying to interfere in the election.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Osigwe said the ECNBA operates independently and does not take instructions from him. He also denied backing any candidate, describing the allegations as politically motivated and lacking evidence.
His comments followed weeks of controversy around the July 18 NBA election. Some candidates and stakeholders had called for a postponement, demanded mandatory NIN verification for voters, and accused the NBA leadership of trying to influence the outcome.
The association maintained that only the ECNBA is constitutionally empowered to conduct the election.
Osigwe added that claims that NBA elections have always been manipulated have never been proven in court, and dismissed suggestions that his personal vote could sway the result.
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju also weighed in, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission to take lessons from the NBA’s electronic voting process.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, Adeyanju said he voted in less than two minutes and commended the ECNBA for a seamless process of registration, verification and voting.
“The ECNBA has demonstrated that secure electronic voting is possible, using each lawyer’s unique Supreme Court number and OTP verification,” he said.
