Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, one of the presidential candidates in the just-concluded 2026 Nigerian Bar Association National Officers Election, has alleged that the NBA sent out more than six different voting portals during the election despite earlier advertising one official portal and warning members not to vote through any other platform.
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Speaking during a television interview on the controversy trailing the election, Akinboro said the movement from one portal to another within the voting period was one of the clearest signs that the process was deeply flawed. According to him, the NBA had informed lawyers of the portal to be used for the election, but during the exercise, several other portals were allegedly circulated.
“You don’t need to call any expert to know that everything did not go well in our election. Within the 24 hours that we were supposed to have the election, we moved from portal to portal almost six times. Different portals. The NBA advertised the portal for the election and said nobody should vote through another portal. But the NBA sent out more than six different portals within the same period of the election,” he said.
Akinboro also alleged that many lawyers in areas considered strongholds of some candidates were unable to vote because they did not receive the One-Time Password required to access the voting platform.
He said out of over 82,000 lawyers qualified to vote, only about 27,000 were able to cast their votes, describing the turnout as a serious decline from previous NBA elections.
“Out of 82,000-plus that were qualified to vote, only about 27,000 were able to vote. I did not vote in the election. I could not get my OTP. A lot of people could not get the OTP,” he said.
According to him, Lagos Branch had almost 20,000 eligible voters but only a little over 3,000 were able to vote. He also claimed that Ikeja Branch, which he described as one of the top 10 NBA branches, recorded about 1,000 votes, while Ibadan recorded about 500 or 600 votes.
“Areas that they know are strongholds of some people, they will not get OTP. The election is not holding there,” he alleged.
Akinboro described the election as the worst in the history of the NBA, saying instead of the Association’s electoral process improving over the years, it had deteriorated seriously.
“Unfortunately, we have the worst election in the history of the NBA. Instead of our elections improving by the years, it has become a case of serious deterioration. And this one is one that stands out because almost everybody is talking about it,” he said.
He faulted the explanation that the early collapse of the voting system was caused by a cyberattack, arguing that a cyberattack could shut down a system but would not change information already inputted into the system.
Akinboro said the election was scheduled to begin at midnight on July 18, but the voting site crashed within about 30 minutes. He said his name was wrongly displayed on the ballot and his photograph was missing before the platform was shut down.
“My name did not come out as my name. Instead of Oluwole Akinboro, they had Oluwatoyin Akinboro. And my picture was not on the ballot. So they suddenly shut down and now claimed that it was a cyberattack. A cyberattack will not change what you inputted into your system. It may shut down your system, but not change what you inputted in your system,” he said.
He said he waited until about 6:30 a.m. before going to sleep after the election was said to have been suspended, only to be woken up after 9 a.m. and informed that voting had resumed without proper notification to members.
Akinboro also faulted the extension of the election into July 19, saying the exercise was originally meant to run for 24 hours from midnight on July 18 to midnight of the same day.
He alleged that the election did not properly begin until about 7 a.m. and was later extended without approval from the National Executive Council.
He also referred to a meeting convened around concerns over the election, saying the Attorney-General of the Federation was involved in efforts to resolve the complaints before the poll.
According to him, some of the issues agreed at the meeting included the use of the National Identification Number for voter identification, the use of telephone numbers instead of email because of past concerns over allegedly doctored emails, and the shifting of the election by one week to allow lawyers to be properly educated on the new process.
Akinboro alleged that the agreement was not followed, adding that the NBA President later claimed that the election date could not be changed despite allegedly moving the election from July 20 to July 18 without NEC approval.
He denied claims that any candidate was pressured to step down, describing such suggestion as false.
“Nobody mounted pressure on anybody to step down. That is a lie from the pit of hell,” he said.
Akinboro also accused the NBA leadership of contributing to the crisis, alleging that the problem started with the appointment of the electoral committee. He further alleged that the machinery of the Association was used to support one candidate and to intimidate others, while claiming that the outcome had been predicted before the election.
He said the issues raised went beyond ordinary technological glitches and pointed to deeper flaws in the management of the election.
Asked whether he would go to court, Akinboro said he was still consulting, but that his personal conviction was to pursue the matter to the end in the interest of electoral reform within the NBA.
He said the issue was no longer about whether he must become president, but about ensuring that the system is corrected so that future NBA elections are not conducted in the same manner.
“If we are going to do the right thing, let us do the right thing. We all know the rightful winner knows the right thing. The election that we have, if we continue, it will get worse next time,” he said.
He questioned how lawyers could criticise the Independent National Electoral Commission when the NBA could not conduct a credible election for about 80,000 eligible voters.
“We are the same people that will go out and criticise INEC. INEC conducts elections for more than 80 million people. We cannot conduct an election for 80,000 people and we are saying that we should condone it. I don’t think so,” he said.
Akinboro said although he had earlier resolved not to contest whatever outcome emerged from the election, the alleged irregularities had made the matter one of principle.
He said it would be selfish for him not to use the opportunity to push for a correction of the NBA electoral process.
“I must not be the president, but I want the system to change so that next time, we will not have this kind of thing happening again. By my principle, I think that I should see it to the end,” he said.
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