• APATA HAS CALLED TO CONGRATULATE ME

Barring any last-minute upset, there are strong indications that leading corporate lawyer, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwanna will clinch today’s election for the chairmanship of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch. He may have polled over 500 votes as against his closest rival who polled 100 plus votes.

Uwanna told CITY LAWYER that “(Anthony) Atata has called me to congratulate me.”

Also, Ms. Nta Ekpiken, largely viewed as the ‘new kid on the block,’ is coasting home as the new branch Secretary, going by feelers from impeccable sources.

Meanwhile, the election is being conducted on the Vote-Now.com LLC voting portal, confirming CITY LAWYER’s report that the firm would be contracted by the Electoral Committee as its ICT Partner.

There are strong indications that Mr. Anthony Atata will take the second position for the chairmanship race while Mr. Seth Amaefule may bring up the rear. For the position of secretary, Mr. Shola Abiloye will take the second slot while Mr. James Sonde may place a distant third.

The poll took off smoothly today at 8 o’clock and is scheduled to end by 6 pm. Many branch members who voted early said the exercise was seamless, and hoped it would be devoid of rigging.

A key stakeholder who spoke to CITY LAWYER said both Uwanna and Ekpiken may have clinched the posts due to the gap between the candidates.

When CITY LAWYER spoke with Amaefule at around 5 pm today, he said: “I have been in court all day. I got a Hearing Notice for a Ruling late last night. I just received a call from someone saying, ‘Congratulations for a good outing.’ I am not in touch with my agent, as the agents are not allowed to go into the Situation Room with their phones.’

The Electoral Committee had set up a voting centre at the MUSON CENTRE, Lagos for eligible voters who may experience connectivity and other challenges during the exercise.