History was made on Sunday as the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) declared Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, the first woman to be elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association and its 33rd president.
Announcing the results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja, the Chairman of the ECNBA, Mr. Hameed Ejelam, said Badejo-Okusanya polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast, to defeat her closest challenger, Mr. Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who secured 7,934 votes, or 30.39 per cent.
The third presidential candidate, Mr. Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent of the total votes cast.
According to the ECNBA, 26,106 votes were cast out of 82,172 registered voters, representing a voter turnout of 31.86 per cent.
In other positions, Oghenero Okoro was elected First Vice-President with 11,024 votes, while Afam Okeke secured 8,478 votes to emerge as General Secretary.
Aghogho Gladys was elected Assistant General Secretary with 14,312 votes, while Chinelo Ofoegbunam emerged Welfare Secretary after polling 14,911 votes.
Speaking after the announcement of the results, outgoing NBA President, Mr. Afam Osigwe, SAN, said the election survived attempts to undermine the process, including a cyberattack that forced the ECNBA to rebuild and migrate its ICT infrastructure to a more secure server.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed. This is a trying time for the Bar. In the build-up to this election, many went to great lengths to rubbish the association,” he said.
He urged the newly elected national officers to be magnanimous in victory and appealed to those who lost the election to support the incoming leadership.
“To those who won, be magnanimous in victory; to those who lost, there is always another day. The cyberattack shows that we must do more in data protection. Let us collectively do things in an acceptable manner.
“Someday, the story will be told of how this election was almost sabotaged.
“We must continue to promote the rule of law, and the NBA, made up of lawyers, should be able to determine the course of its electoral process. Where we made mistakes, I believe my successor will correct them.
“Winners should extend the hand of fellowship to those who lost so that we can present a united front in moving the Bar forward,’ he said.