Emelayo Nwosu
Lawyers in Nigeria commenced online voting at midnight on Saturday to elect their president for the next two years in an exercise that has generated public discourse following the alleged attempt by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to interfere in the process.
This followed an alleged letter from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation directing that the election be suspended.
On Thursday, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said, in a statement, that the Tinubu administration was using the alleged interference in the NBA election to test run its plans to rig the 2027 election.
Outgoing President of the NBA, Afam Osigwe, SAN, had also faulted alleged directive by the Attorney General of the Federal and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to suspend the election.
Osigwe insisted that the NBA is an independent body and not subject to the directives of the attorney-general.
The three candidates contesting in Saturday are Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, who, if she wins, will become the first woman to be elected President of the NBA.
She is contesting against Lateef Akangbe, SAN; and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN.
The three contestants are from the Western bloc of the NBA, whose turn it is to produce the next president of the association after Osigwe, SAN, who is from the Eastern bloc.
The NBA presidency rotates between the eastern, northern and western blocs, and within these blocks are sub-zonal arrangements designed to ensure that minority groups are not excluded from the leadership of the Association.
The NBA operates a single, non-renewable two-year tenure for its executive officers at both the state and national levels—model, which has helped to reduce the distractions associated with second-term ambitions.
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