NBA elects Afam Osigwe as president, nine other officers
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Afam Osigwe, has won the presidential election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which was held on Saturday.
Mr Osigwe, a former General Secretary of the NBA between 2014 and 2016, polled 20,435 votes, more than half of the total ballots cast for the presidential position, to defeat his two rivals.
Tobenna Erojikwe came a distant second with 10,998 votes, and another SAN, Chukwuka Ikuazom, who announced withdrawing from the race in the middle of the election on Saturday, came third with 9,018 votes.
The voting by accredited members of the NBA took place electronically between 12 a.m. and 11.59 a.m. on Saturday.
As of the time voting closed, 40,451 votes were tallied for the office of the association’s president with 205 abstentions, according to the results portal updated every minute during the election by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA).
Winners also emerged from the elections of nine other national officers.
Zonal representatives of the General Council of of the association from the Eastern, Northern and Western zones were also elected.
The election for the president was restricted to eligible candidates from the Eastern zone of the NBA, whose turn it is, under the association’s strict zoning arrangement, to fill the position for the next two years.
The two other regional groups are the Western zone and the Northern zone, which produced the outgoing president in 2022. A splinter zone, called the Mid-Western zone emerged from the Western region in 2014 to produce Augustine Alegeh, a SAN, as the president. But the group has since retracted to its low-key status within the Western zone.
Inauguration, issues ahead
Mr Osigwe, whose legal career has spanned 25 years from when he was called to the Bar in 1999, is set to take over as the 32nd NBA president when the outgoing president, Yakubu Maikyau, completes his two-year tenure in August.
The inauguration of the new president and other national officers is billed to take place during the NBA 2024 Annual Conference in Lagos between 23 and 28 August.
Mr Osigwe, who campaigned for office to tackle corruption in the bar and on the bench, is expected to revive the dwindling NBA’s traditional role of holding public officers accountable and take leadership on other issues of public interest.
His NBA leadership comes when public confidence in the judiciary and the legal profession, generally, has kept a down spiral fuelled by a series of perverse court decisions, crashing professional and ethical standards, and frustrating delays cases suffer in court.
Mr Osigwe, who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2020, will also inherit the welling discontent of various interest groups threatening to break the NBA into splinters.
Controversies
The election into the president’s office was dogged by controversy on Saturday, with one of the candidates, Ikwuazom, the Chairman of the NBA-Institute of Continuing Legal Education Governing Council, announcing his withdrawal from the race.
Mr Ikwuazom withdrew from the election, claiming the process was compromised.
He alleged that the presidential election was manipulated to ensure a predetermined outcome, with the vote counts not reflecting the support he received.
“It has become increasingly evident that the integrity of the electoral process has been compromised. Despite the overwhelming support from my dedicated supporters, the reported figures do not align with the true expression of our votes,” Mr Ikwuazom said in a statement.
“As a candidate committed to upholding transparency and the rule of law, I cannot in good conscience continue to participate in a compromised electoral process.”
A screenshot of a Whatsapp conversation purportedly between some senior lawyers suggesting that President Bola Tinubu was making frantic efforts to sway votes for Mr Osigwe also circulated online on Saturday.
But the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, denied the purported president’s backing of Mr Osigwe.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr Fagbemi maintained that President Tinubu did not instruct anyone to campaign for any candidate.
“My attention has been drawn to the news making the rounds on social media that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has endorsed Afam Osigwe, SAN as his preferred candidate. I wish to state categorically that at no time did Mr President give any such instruction,” Mr Fagbemi said.
“Mr President is a democrat who believes in playing by the rules. He will abide by the outcome of a free and fair election and is ready to work with any candidate that emerges.”
Other election results
The election results show that Sabastine Anyia was elected as the 1st Vice President, Bolatumi Animashaun as the 2nd Vice President, and Zainab Garba as the 3rd Vice President.
Mobolaji Ojibara was elected as General Secretary and Henry Ehi as the Assistant General Secretary.
Blessing Udofa-Poromon was elected Treasurer, Nyada Auta as Welfare Secretary, Bridget Edokwe as Publicity Secretary, and Ebiere Ekpese as Assistant Publicity Secretary.
See below the full results of the election as they appear on the ECNBA result portal after voting closed:
2024 Nigerian Bar Association National Officers Election
20 July 2024, at 12:00 a.m. — 20 July 2024, at 11:59pm (GMT+01:00) WEST CENTRAL AFRICA
President
40,451 votes tallied and 205 abstentions
Three (3) candidates
*Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN – 20,435 votes (Winner)
*Chukwuka Nwabueze Ikwuazom, SAN – 9,018 votes
*Mr. Tobenna Chigbo Erojikwe – 10,998 votes
1st Vice-President
36,549 votes tallied and 4,107 abstentions
Six (6) candidates)
- Sabastine Anyia – 12,114 votes (Winner)
*Mr. Bartholomew Aguegbodo – 6,864 votes
*Dr. Gerald Ugochukwu Abonyl – 3,227 votes
*Dr. Promise Wobe Iwezor – 5,365 votes
*Mr. Reginald Iheanyichukwu Ugwuadu – 3,261 votes
*Williams Soseipiriye – 5,718 votes
2nd Vice-President
37,655 votes tallied and 3,001 abstentions
Two (2) candidates
*Mrs. Bolatumi Olasunbe Animashaun- 26,534 votes (Winner)
*Mr. Pius Idemudia Oiwoh – 11,121 votes
3rd Vice-President
37,447 votes tallied and 3,209 abstentions
Two (2) candidates
*Mr. Michael Olarewaju Olorunmola – 13,897 votes
*Mrs. Zainab Aminu Garba – 23,550 votes (Winner)
General Secretary
37,443 votes tallied and 3,213 abstentions
Two (2) candidates
*Mr. Abdulwasiu Alfa – 11,730 votes
*Dr. Mobolaji Idris Ojibara – 25,713 votes (Winner)
Assistant General Secretary
36,869 votes tallied and 3,787 abstentions
Two (2) candidates
*Henry Barnabas Ehi – 28,552 votes (Winner)
*Mr. Oluwaseun Aka – 8,317 votes
Treasurer
37,265 votes tallied and 3,391 abstentions
Three (3) candidates
- Mrs. Blessing Imo Udofa Poromon – 18,369 votes
*Mrs. Caroline Obi – 19,542 votes (Winner)
*Mbamala Chukwuemeka – 10,989 votes
Welfare Secretary
36,960 votes tallied and 3,696 abstentions
Three (3) candidates
*Oaikhena Osagie – 7,667 votes
- Mr. Ernest Ezindu Uwanaka – 26,955 votes (Winner)
*Mr. Nyada Auta – 9,690 votes
Publicity Secretary
38,198 votes tallied and 2,458 abstentions
Three (3) candidates
*Mrs. Bridget Ijeoma Edokwe – 19,542 votes (Winner)
- Mr. Charles Olawale Ajiboye – 10,989 votes
- Mr. Ferdinand Afam Naza – 7,667 votes
Assistant Publicity Secretary
36,645 votes tallied and 4,011 abstentions
Two (2) candidates
*Miss Ebiere Emmanuella Ekpese – 26,955 votes (Winner)
*Mr. Lawrence Ikpehai Ayewa – 9,690 votes
NBA Representatives to the General Council of the Bar (Eastern Zone)
124,455 votes tallied and 15,765 abstentions
Five (5) candidates
Each of the five candidates is credited with 24,891 votes
*Mr. Augustine Osondu Ike – 24,891 votes
*Mr. Daniel Ka Ayti Kip- 24,891 votes
*Mr. Eric Chigozie Ibe- 24,891 votes
*Mr. Michael Chukwurah Onuorah – 24,891 votes
- Mr. Obi Lawrence Anizoba- 24,891 votes
NBA Representatives to the General Council of the Bar (Northern Zone)
30,357 votes tallied and 10,299 abstentions
One (1) candidate, unopposed
*Mr. Tijjani Magaji – 30,357 votes (Winner)
NBA Representatives to the General Council of the Bar (Western Zone)
126,260 votes tallied and 15,400 abstentions
Four (4) candidates
Each of the four candidates is credited with 25,256 votes
*Mr. Israel Solomon Lagbamue – 25,256 votes
*Mr. Kingsley Asagba – 25,256 votes
*Mr. Olukunle Ogheneove Edun – 25,256 votes
- Mr. Precious Ndidi Nwadimuyah – 25,256 votes
(Premium Times)