NBA Poll: Badejo-Okusanya Widens Lead Over Akangbe, Akinboro

(AFRICAN EXAMINER)—Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has strengthened her lead in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, moving closer to becoming the association’s first elected female president.

Badejo-Okusanya is contesting to succeed the current NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN).

As of 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, results on the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) portal showed she had secured 10,554 votes, representing 46.16 per cent of the votes counted.

Her closest rival, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), had 7,020 votes (30.70 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) polled 5,289 votes (23.13 per cent).

A total of 22,863 votes had been counted, giving Badejo-Okusanya a lead of more than 3,500 votes over Akangbe.

Earlier results released at 11:33 a.m. had also placed Badejo-Okusanya in front with 4,860 votes, ahead of Akangbe’s 3,851 votes and Akinboro’s 2,924 votes.

Although the final results had not been announced at the time of filing this report, the latest figures suggest Badejo-Okusanya is on course for victory.

The election comes amid recent controversy over the voting process. On Friday, NBA President Afam Osigwe dismissed allegations that he was trying to influence the election or support any candidate.

Osigwe said the Electoral Committee operates independently and does not take instructions from him. He described claims of interference as politically motivated and lacking evidence.

Some candidates and stakeholders had earlier raised concerns about the credibility of the election, calling for its postponement, demanding National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters and alleging attempts to manipulate the process.

However, the NBA maintained that only the Electoral Committee has the constitutional authority to conduct the election.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju praised the conduct of the NBA election and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt similar electronic voting technology.

Adeyanju said registering, verifying and casting his vote took less than two minutes. He noted that the ECNBA’s use of lawyers’ Supreme Court numbers and one-time password (OTP) verification showed that secure electronic voting is possible in Nigeria.

He called on INEC to study the NBA election process, saying it demonstrates that electronic voting can be efficient, transparent and secure.