Barely 24 hours after CITY LAWYER reported that the National Officers Election Appeals Committee (NOEAC) had overshot the deadline set by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Constitution in treating appeals by disqualified aspirants, the committee has now resolved all pending appeals.

This development was confirmed by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) through its latest official notice.

CITY LAWYER investigation shows that the Appeals Committee upheld two appeals brought by BULUS YOHANNA ATSEN, FSI and ONIMISI FRIDAY UMAR, both candidates from the Northern Zone vying for the position of NBA Representative to the General Council of the Bar (GCB).

In the notice obtained by CITY LAWYER and titled “FINAL LIST OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR THE 2026 NBA GENERAL ELECTIONS,” the electoral committee noted that it was unveiling the final list of candidates “following the conclusion of the screening process and the determination of all appeals by the National Officers Election Appeals Committee, pursuant to the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025) and ECNBA Notice No. 2 of 9th February,
2026.”

CITY LAWYER had signposted the inelegant situation whereby the ECNBA had started engaging cleared aspirants while those with pending appeals were left in the limbo.

In its latest notice, the electoral umpire stated that “All qualified candidates are reminded that they remain bound by the provisions of ECNBA Notice No. 4 governing campaigns and all other applicable electoral rules and guidelines.”

The committee also stated that “This list is final and represents the outcome of the full screening and appeal processes under the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025). Aspirants whose names do not appear herein have been notified individually of the Committee’s decision and had the opportunity to appeal to the National Officers Election Appeals Committee under Part VIII of the Second Schedule. All campaigns shall be conducted strictly in accordance with ECNBA Notice No. 4 dated 13th February, 2026 and further Guidelines to be issued which will include the commencement and closure dates of Campaigns respectively.”

The notice was dated 28th May, 2026, and signed by ECNBA Chairman, Mr. Aham Ejelam SAN alongside the committee’s Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Nassarawa.

An analysis of the final list shows that the list of aspiring National Officers did not witness any change, with three candidates each for the positions of NBA President and First Vice President.

Three candidates may be returned unopposed for the positions of Second Vice President (Nuhu John Egya), Third Vice President (Irene Iniobong Pepple) and Treasurer (Esther Ifeoma Jimoh), their candidacy having been unopposed.

Conversely, no less than six candidates will slug it out for the coveted position of NBA General Secretary while a whopping seven candidates will battle for the post of Assistant General Secretary.

Five candidates will contest for the post of Welfare Secretary, two candidates for the position of Publicity Secretary and four candidates for the position of Assistant Publicity Secretary.

For the General Council of the Bar, eight candidates will slug it out in the Eastern Zone while a meagre two candidates may be returned unopposed for the Western Zone, being the only two aspirants for the position from the zone. Following the success of their appeals, the candidates for the Northern Zone have now jumped from five to seven.

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