The publication contained the curriculum vitae, manifestos, and approved campaign materials of all candidates who submitted the required documents before the June 6 deadline.
According to information released by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), a total of 35 candidates have been cleared to contest various national offices in the association.
Three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) were cleared to vie for the NBA presidency, while two candidates qualified for the position of 1st Vice President. One candidate was cleared for 3rd Vice President, and five lawyers were approved to contest the office of General Secretary.
Similarly, three candidates were cleared for Assistant General Secretary, three for Welfare Secretary, and three for Assistant Publicity Secretary. The positions of Treasurer and Publicity Secretary each have a single unopposed candidate.
For representation on the General Council of the Bar across the geopolitical zones, five candidates were cleared for the Eastern zone, two for the Western zone, and five for the Northern zone.
Section 10(1) of the NBA Constitution (2015, as amended in 2025) establishes the ECNBA as an independent body responsible for conducting elections into the association’s national offices, as well as selecting NBA representatives to the General Council of the Bar.
It will be recalled that, with about nine months remaining in his tenure, the incumbent NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, initiated the process for selecting the association’s next leadership. At the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Edo State on November 20, 2025, a five-member ECNBA was constituted to conduct the 2026 elections. Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Aham Ejelam, was appointed Chairman, while Ibrahim Aliyu Nasarawa was named Secretary.
Other members of the committee include Muhammad M. Nuhu, Uju Okafor, and Ume Maduka. The NBA President had noted that the composition of the committee reflects the association’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and professionalism in its electoral process.
According to the ECNBA, the presidential aspirants are Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, of the Abuja Branch (called to the Bar in 1991); Ms. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, of the Lagos Branch (2002), the only female candidate in the race; and Mr. Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, also of the Lagos Branch (2003). The 2026 NBA presidency has been zoned to the Western region.
The Western zone comprises Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Edo, and Delta States.
The NBA Constitution provides for universal suffrage through electronic voting, with eligible voters comprising lawyers who have paid their practising fees and branch dues. While preparations for the election are underway, the association has faced internal tensions over allegations of bias within its leadership.
At the centre of the dispute is a reported consensus arrangement, which has triggered legal actions capable of affecting the conduct of the election.
The association had previously adopted a power rotation formula aimed at addressing instability, domination, and marginalisation among its various regions.
The zoning arrangement was intended to promote fairness in leadership allocation and ensure political stability within the body.
However, following a perceived attempt to alter a consensus deal said to favour a presidential aspirant from the Western zone, the Incorporated Trustees of Egbe Amofin O’odua instituted legal action against the NBA. The group, an association of Yoruba lawyers, insisted that the NBA should adopt its preferred candidate, Aare Akinboro, SAN, as the consensus nominee for the presidency.
In suit No. I/205/2026, Justice Y. S. Adekunle of the Oyo State High Court on February 24 issued an interim injunction restraining the NBA from recognising or processing nominations outside the alleged consensus arrangement.
Similarly, Justice G. A. Opayinka of the same court granted an interim order temporarily halting steps toward the conduct of the 2026 NBA elections.
The second suit, marked I/221/2026, was filed by four lawyers — Ibrahim Lawal, Raymond Oki, Omotan Olusola Ogunmodede, and Chief Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana — who sought to restrain the NBA leadership and the ECNBA from acting in any official capacity regarding the election process pending the hearing of their motion for interlocutory injunction.
