*Barrister Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, urges a comprehensive review of the Nigerian Bar Association’s recent election characterised by controversies, including disenfranchisement and technical failures, stating by any stretch of the imagination, the election ‘cannot be described as wholly free, fair, credible and inclusive’
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
Some concerned stakeholders have described the recent leadership transition effort as “an electoral process that technically disenfranchises a significant number of eligible voters.”
Subsequently, reactions have continued to trail the 2026 national officers’ election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
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ConsumerConnect reports Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya was declared the winner, having defeated fellow SANs Lateef Akangbe and Olumuyiwa Akinboro in the election held between Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, 2026.
She polled 12,317 votes, while Mr. Akangbe scored 7,934 votes and Mr Akinboro 5,855 votes, according to the final tally on the live results dashboard of the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA).
It is noted that Badejo-Okusanya’s victory made her the first elected female president of the NBA, and second woman to lead the 66-year-old association, after Priscilla Kuye, who served as the NBA President between 1991 and 1992.
My experience during NBA electoral process, by Barr. Monday Ubani
Relating his personal experience during the entire process, Barrister Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged a comprehensive review of the exercise which was characterised by controversies, including technical failures that reportedly prevented several eligible lawyers from voting.
Ubani stated this in a recent post shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
He equally congratulated Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, who was declared winner of the NBA presidential election.
On alleged disenfranchisement of members at election
Ubani claimed he and his son, who is also a lawyer, were unable to vote in an NBA election like several other lawyers despite making repeated attempts to participate in the last leadership transition process.
According to him, the One-Time Password (OTP) required to complete the electronic voting did not arrive after several attempts.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria explained: “After several unsuccessful attempts, the response on my device changed to the now-familiar refrain: “This site can’t be reached.” Sadly, that remained my experience until voting eventually came to an end,” Ubani wrote.
A former Chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the NBA, in Lagos State, who later served a term as the second Vice-President of the Association at the national level, Ubani explained that his son, who is also a lawyer and eligible voter at the NBA election, experienced similar difficulties, while several colleagues and friends contacted him during the election to report comparable problems.
Some voters, he narrated, switched from mobile devices to laptops after being advised that the latter might provide better access to the voting platform, but their difficulties persisted.
He further lamented: “Against this background, it would be difficult to dismiss these complaints as isolated incidents or the frustrations of a few disgruntled voters.
“An electoral process that technically disenfranchises a significant number of eligible voters cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as wholly free, fair, credible and inclusive.”
He emphasised that the problems encountered during the Association’s election were particularly unfortunate because of the high level of interest it had generated among Nigerians.
Ubani said lawyers, who were willing and eligible to vote, should not have been prevented from doing so by failures in the electoral system.
He asserted: “Whoever insists that there was no problem with the process, in the face of the widespread complaints experienced and reported by members, would simply not be presenting a fair account of what transpired.”
The senior lawyer, however, he was not out to diminish the victory secured by Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya, and other elected national officers that emerged from the poll.
According to him, despite the observed glitches, Badejo-Okusanya and others could still have won after all.
Urging the new NBA President’s upcoming leadership to reform the NBA’s electoral process, Ubani said she and the other winners could still have won convincingly.
He said: “Indeed, I believe Madam Badejo-Okusanya could still have won resoundingly even without the technical glitches that unfortunately cast a shadow over the process.”
He, nonetheless, maintained that “issues arising from the election should not be ignored or swept under the carpet.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya is billed to be inaugurated alongside other newly elected National Officers during the NBA’s annual general conference scheduled for August 21- 28 this year, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.