Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has taken an early lead in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, according to preliminary results released on Saturday.
As of 11:33 a.m., Badejo-Okusanya had secured 4,860 votes, representing 41.77 per cent of the ballots counted.
Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), polled 3,851 votes, equivalent to 33.10 per cent, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) received 2,924 votes, representing 25.13 per cent.
Although the final results had yet to be announced, the 11,600 votes counted so far indicated that Badejo-Okusanya was leading the race for the NBA presidency.
The development comes a day after NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) dismissed allegations that he was attempting to influence or manipulate the association’s national officers’ election.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Osigwe maintained that the NBA Electoral Committee operates independently and does not take directives from him.
He also denied backing any candidate, describing claims of interference as politically motivated and lacking credible evidence.
The controversy surrounding the July 18 election followed calls by some presidential candidates and stakeholders for the poll to be postponed, demands for mandatory National Identification Number verification for voters, and allegations that the NBA leadership was seeking to influence the process.
However, the association maintained that the Electoral Committee alone is constitutionally empowered to conduct the election.
Osigwe also argued that previous allegations of election manipulation within the NBA had never been proven in court and insisted that his personal voting preference could not determine the outcome of the poll.