Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has alleged that certain vested interests are attempting to manipulate the upcoming Nigerian Bar Association presidential election by trying to ensure that one candidate runs unopposed.

The NBA is expected to elect its 33rd president next month, with three Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Omoyemi Akangbe, Muyiwa Akinboro, and Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, contesting for the office.

In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Odinkalu explained that the NBA presidency rotates among the country’s three historic regions- East, North, and West, and that this year’s election was zoned to the Western Region.

According to him, the Western Region comprises two informal blocs: the Egbe Amofin O’odua, representing the six South-West states, and the Mid-West Bar, made up of Edo and Delta states.

He said the Mid-West Bar had opted not to present a candidate, leaving the contest to candidates from the South-West.

Odinkalu alleged that the Egbe Amofin O’odua had endorsed Akinboro and was seeking to prevent the other candidates from participating in the election.

“For this round of elections, the Egbe Amofin has chosen to line itself up behind Muyiwa Akinboro as its preferred candidate,” he wrote.

“They have gone further to seek to require the NBA to exclude other candidates from the contest so that Mr Akinboro can emerge unopposed. That, however, would be unfair to people who are not part of the Egbe Amofin and to the wider body of the NBA.”

He argued that such a move would undermine the association’s constitutional and institutional framework.

“It would also be a profound subversion of the constitutional and institutional arrangements of the Association,” Odinkalu said.

The senior lawyer further claimed that the group had approached the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan to obtain an order suspending the NBA’s electoral process.

“To drive home their demand, the Egbe Amofin went to the High Court of Oyo State in Ibadan to get an order of court to suspend the NBA’s electoral season until they get their way,” he alleged, adding that “the case has suffered uneasy suspension”.

Odinkalu also alleged that some interests were threatening to seek the appointment of a sole administrator to oversee the NBA if their demands were not met.

“They are even threatening that if they do not get their way to get the Attorney-General of the Federation to ‘nationalise’ the Association and designate a sole administrator for it,” he wrote.

“Sadly, for them, the NBA is an NGO; there is no legal framework for achieving this end.”

He also urged lawyers to defend the association’s “One Lawyer, One Vote” electoral system, alleging that one of the presidential candidates intends to abolish it if elected.

“If you are a younger lawyer in Nigeria, there is a presidential candidate in this election who wants to abolish One Lawyer, One Vote if he wins. Ask yourself the question if that is what you want,” he said.

Odinkalu also highlighted the candidacy of Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, noting that she could become the first woman to be directly elected NBA president.

“For the first time since 2006, this year, there is on the slate a woman who has a real and competitive chance of becoming the first woman to be directly elected as the President of the NBA and only the second female president in the history of the Association,” he wrote.

The PUNCH reports that NBA and the individuals mentioned in Odinkalu’s comments had not publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.

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