Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has emerged as the frontrunner in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, according to early voting results released on Saturday.
Figures available as of 11:33 a.m. showed Badejo-Okusanya with 4,860 votes, accounting for 41.77 per cent of the ballots counted.
Her closest rival, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), had secured 3,851 votes, representing 33.10 per cent, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) polled 2,924 votes, or 25.13 per cent.
With about 11,600 votes counted at the time, the preliminary results indicated an early advantage for Badejo-Okusanya, although the final outcome of the election had yet to be announced.
The vote comes after weeks of debate surrounding the credibility of the NBA’s electoral process. Some candidates and members of the association had raised concerns over the conduct of the election, calling for its postponement and seeking stricter voter verification measures, including the use of the National Identification Number (NIN).
On Friday, NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) rejected allegations that he or the association’s leadership was attempting to influence the election. He maintained that the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association operates independently and is solely responsible for conducting the poll.
Osigwe also dismissed claims that he had endorsed any candidate or sought to manipulate the outcome, describing the allegations as politically motivated and unsupported by evidence. He further stated that previous accusations of election manipulation within the NBA had never been upheld in court.
The association has consistently maintained that its Electoral Committee remains the only body empowered under the NBA Constitution to conduct the election.
