BY EMEKA NWADIOKE

The stakes in Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Elections are usually very high. It is not for nothing that aspirants for the 2030 NBA Presidency are already positioning themselves and raising their visibility.

As a result, it is not entirely strange that nearly all the contenders for the 2026 NBA Presidential election are already known. A growing perception is that any aspirant who has not somewhat declared his or her intention for the coveted position by now has little or no chance of coasting home to victory.

Aside from one aspirant who has publicly declared his intention to gun for the coveted post, others are quietly “consulting,” a euphemism for subtle and discreet campaigning. At least half of the listed aspirants have formally confirmed their interest to CITY LAWYER.

The aspirants are not only visiting branches to drop words on their ambition but are also informing influential Bar Leaders of same and gingerly dropping souvenirs in the hands of potential voters to sway support in their favour.

The 2026 NBA Presidency has been allotted to the Western Zone by the NBA Constitution. The zone comprises Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo States.

Interestingly, there has been a cat-and-mouse tussle between the two blocs within the zone, namely the South West bloc – comprising of the six core South West States – and the Midwest, comprising of the two States of Edo and Delta. It is perhaps noteworthy that the last time an NBA President of Yoruba extraction held sway at NBA House was between 2008 and 2010 during the tenure of deceased fiery Bar Leader and former Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu SAN. The question on the lips of many watchers of NBA politics is whether the bloc can put its act together this time around to break this 16-year-old jinx in 2026. Needless to say that multiplicity of candidates from the South West bloc has been its Achilles’ heel. The emerging scenario is not entirely different.

CITY LAWYER investigation shows that as at the last count, no less than four aspirants of South West origin are almost certain to throw their hats into the ring when the race for the 2026 NBA Presidency formally kicks off. This is against the two confirmed aspirants from the Midwest bloc.

A major handicap of the South West bloc in clinching the presidency has been the spectacular inability of the once powerful regional behemoth, the Egbe Amofin O’odua to rein in some of the aspirants towards presenting a consensus candidate from the bloc. A plethora of factors including internal contradictions led to this inevitable outcome.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the failure of South West candidates to band behind a consensus candidate during the 2014 election handed the initiative to the Midwest bloc, with Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN reaping full dividends from the fiasco and coasting home to victory. He won the race with a total of 691 votes. The runner-up, Chief Dele Adesina SAN polled 370 votes while foremost chartered arbitrator, Mrs. Funke Adekoya SAN polled 255 votes. Chief Niyi Akintola SAN, fondly called ‘Garrison Commander’ by his admirers, polled 126 votes while Mr. Osas Erhabor garnered only 17 votes. Instructively, the three South West candidates polled a total of 751 votes, 60 votes more than the 691 votes received by Alegeh. The former NBA President has gone ahead to build a formidable and well-oiled political machinery over the years.

It needs however be stated that there is no assurance that a consensus South West or Yoruba candidate would have garnered all the 751 votes during the 2014 election. The election witnessed the last poll under the much vilified electoral college system under which branch chairmen held candidates by the jugular.

History was again to repeat itself in year 2020 when Mr. Olumide Akpata – also from the Midwest bloc -again dusted two South West candidates to win. While Akpata polled 9,891 votes, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN polled 4,328 votes. Returnee candidate Adesina garnered 3,982 votes. However, unlike in 2014 election, the total 8,310 votes polled by the two South West candidates were not enough to dislodge the landslide victory posted by Akpata, falling short by a whopping 1,581 votes. The question on the lips of many NBA Election watchers is, ‘Will history repeat itself in 2026?’

CITY LAWYER investigation shows that the four aspirants from the South West bloc that are keen to vie for the NBA Presidency in 2026 are Mr. Muyiwa Akinboro SAN, Mr. Yemi Akangbe SAN, Prof. Foluke Dada and Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya. While Akinboro is from NBA Abuja Branch which produced the incumbent president, Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN, Akangbe, Dada and Badejo-Okusanya are of NBA Lagos Branch which boasts of the largest voting bloc in NBA. However, any headstart either of the Lagos Branch aspirants would have had by such massive voting bloc may be cancelled out by the inevitable prospect of vote splitting among themselves.

What is more, notwithstanding allegations of rigging that bedeviled the 2024 Elections, some analysts argue that the major undoing of NBA Lagos Branch during the 2024 Elections was its fielding of two candidates for the presidential election, namely Mr. Chukwuka Ikwuazom SAN and Mr. Tobenna Erojikwe, as against a sole candidate from NBA Abuja Branch. While Osigwe received 20,435 votes (50.52 per cent), Erojikwe polled 10,998 votes while Ikwuazom, who pulled out of the election midstream citing irregularities, garnered 9,018 votes.

Though some NBA political watchers had expected Ajibade to give the race a second shot after his respectable showing in 2020, he however told CITY LAWYER at the weekend that he would not contest in 2026. A top associate of the senior lawyer cited alleged lack of transparency in NBA Elections as the sole reason for his disillusionment. While his candidacy would have posed a formidable challenge to other aspirants, Ajibade’s lack of interest in the 2026 presidential race is however good news especially for the Lagos Branch aspirants, as the branch votes would have been further split down the middle with his participation. It was however unclear at press time whether his decision not to run would embolden one or two more aspirants to join the fray, given that he may have been reckoned with as the man to beat.

For the Midwest bloc, two aspirants have confirmed to CITY LAWYER that they are keen to join the NBA presidential election fray come 2026. Aside from fiery human rights advocate and former NBA First Vice President, Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins who had also publicly declared his intention to gun for the topmost position in the NBA, vocal immediate past NBA Third Vice President, Mrs. Amanda Demechi-Asagba is categorical about her impending quest for the plum position. Unless the duo are able to harmonize their positions, they may suffer a similar fate like their South West counterparts in 2014 and 2020 and NBA Lagos Branch in 2024 by splitting the otherwise Midwest bloc votes. While Aikpokpo-Martins is a former Chairman of NBA Warri Branch, Demechi-Asagba has carved a niche for herself at NBA Ikeja Branch.

The question on everyone’s lips is, ‘Who will cart home the prize come 2026?’

NEXT: NBA PRESIDENCY 2026: FACTORS THAT WILL SHAPE THE RACE

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