NBA election records over 22,000 votes as turnout hits 27.56%

More than 22,000 lawyers had cast their ballots in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national election as of Saturday evening, with voter turnout reaching 27.56 per cent.

An update released at 6:52 p.m. by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) showed that 22,645 of the 82,164 eligible lawyers had voted in the ongoing electronic poll.

The figures indicate that voting was still in progress, with thousands of eligible members yet to participate.

The election will produce the next president of the association, with three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) — Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe and Olumuyiwa Akinboro — contesting for the office.

Earlier results released at about 11:33 a.m. showed Badejo-Okusanya leading the race with 4,860 votes, representing 41.77 per cent of the 11,635 ballots counted at the time.

Akangbe was in second place with 3,851 votes (33.10 per cent), while Akinboro polled 2,924 votes (25.13 per cent).

If the lead is maintained, Badejo-Okusanya would become the second woman to serve as President of the Nigerian Bar Association, after Dame Priscilla Olabori Kuye, who made history as the association’s first female president from 1991 to 1992.

The election has attracted heightened scrutiny following weeks of controversy over the credibility of the NBA’s electronic voting system.

Ahead of the poll, some stakeholders called for its postponement, demanded the introduction of mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters, and alleged attempts to influence the outcome.

Voting is being conducted entirely through the ECNBA’s electronic platform, with the final results expected after the close of polls and completion of the collation and verification process.