Barring any last-minute hitch, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Olumide Akpata will on Monday inaugurate the newly appointed Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA).

An impeccable source who is familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that the inauguration which was originally scheduled to hold at NBA House by 12 noon will now hold same day at 3:30 pm.

The inauguration will set the stage for frenzied politicking towards the eagerly awaited 2022 NBA National Elections. The presidential election will see only candidates from the Northern Zone slugging it out for the coveted seat, going by the zoning arrangement built into the NBA Constitution (as amended).

Akpata had at the last NBA National Executive Committee (NBA-NEC) quarterly meeting in Abeokuta announced the appointment of members of the Electoral Committee to conduct the 2022 National Officers election.

Many political pundits have hailed Akpata on the appointment of Akintunde to spearhead the election, saying it signposts a commitment towards a free and transparent election. Akintunde was a longstanding Chairman of several NBA Lagos Branch electoral committees which conducted rancour-free elections to the admiration of members. A source told CITY LAWYER that he was in the running to conduct the last controversial NBA National Elections but was side-stepped at the last minute.

Other members of the Committee are Mabel Ekeke, Secretary; firebrand human rights activist, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu; former NBA Treasurer, Aisha Ado-Abdulahi and leading ICT expert, Mr. Basil Udotai.

It is recalled that especially since 2012, NBA National Election have limped from one controversy to another, thereby compromising NBA’s standing towards combating electoral misfeasance in Nigeria.

Akpata had in his inaugural address said: “It is for this reason that I immediately constituted an Electoral Audit and Reforms Committee headed by Ayo Akintunde SAN to audit our 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections and to recommend reforms for our electoral systems and processes.

“For me, two things stand out. The first is the need to audit the election that led to our emergence, but which was also characterised by certain glitches that should not be associated with a foremost professional association like ours.”

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