As the 2024 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Elections heads towards the home stretch, there are strong indications that about five NBA branches would be decisive in who wins the elections.

CITY LAWYER investigation shows that NBA Lagos Branch has retained its dominance as the prime poaching ground for candidates, with 13,448 voters on the voting list. The branch has maintained this prime position in the last three election cycles since the introduction of electronic voting.

However, unlike in the past when Lagos Branch maintained a hefty lead over the runner-up branch, the gap is being increasingly narrowed, with Abuja Branch closing in on Lagos Branch with 11,449 voters on the log. This may however not be unconnected with the fact that a former chairman of the branch, Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN is among the three candidates gunning for the NBA Presidency during this election cycle.

NBA Ikeja Branch maintains its traditional third position on the log with 5,664 voters on the register while NBA Port Harcourt Branch completes the usual ‘Top Four’ mega voting blocs with 3,946 voters.

On the other hand, NBA Ibadan Branch has started to show its mettle by posting a substantial 2,064 voters on the voters’ list, with NBA Owerri Branch trailing with 1,442 voters.

NBA Enugu Branch and NBA Nyanya Branch tie on the log with 1,371 respectively. NBA Kano Branch also overshot the 1000 voters threshold with 1,078 voters.

Some of the other branches and their voting strengths are as follows:

Asaba 871; Kaduna 855; Onitsha 740; Bwari 715; Akure 651; Aba 567; Awka 556; Ikorodu 425; Effurun 407; Bauchi 403; Gwagwalada 335; Badagry 318; Jalingo 291; Barnawa 287; Ado-Ekiti 265; Nyanya 228; Ijebu-Ode 167 and Ikere Ekiti 15.

Though CITY LAWYER had requested a breakdown of the voters’ list per branches from the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA), the committee had argued that all the stakeholders that attended its Stakeholders Meeting of 12th July found the voters’ database as already presented “fully adequate.”

The ECNBA Chairman, Mr. Oluseun Abimbola SAN told CITY LAWYER that the stakeholders had no complaints about the database, adding that “Indeed, it was a common consensus certifying it appropriate.”

The committee however seems to have reversed itself following a complaint letter by one of the presidential candidates, Mr. Tobenna Erojikwe.

Dated July 18, 2024, the letter was titled, “THE NON-PUBLICATION OF THE NAMES OF QUALIFIED VOTERS FOR THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION (NBA) GENERAL ELECTIONS 2024, AN EGREGIOUS VIOLATION OF THE NBA CONSTITUTION – A REQUEST FOR ECNBA TO ACT RIGHT.”

Saying he received a commitment from the ECNBA at the Stakeholders’ Meeting that the voters’ list would be published, Erojikwe stated that “compliance with the requirement to publish the Voters List can be achieved by a mere publication of the names of the eligible voters against their branches.”

He stated that “the argument cannot be that releasing the names of voters and their branches without more amounts to data privacy violations.”

Apparently buckling under pressure, the ECNBA issued its Notice No. 13 titled “NOTICE OF BRANCH DIRECTORY OF VOTERS AND COUNTDOWN TO ELECTIONS.”

In the notice, the committee stated that “In addition to the comprehensive voters list published by ECNBA on the 28th of May 2024, the ECNBA has further for the purpose of transparency and the integrity of the process, provided a directory of voters listed alphabetically and, according to branches, which can be viewed on the ECNBA website.”

At press time, the elections which started at midnight had overshot half of the 24-hour mark.