The first runner-up in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association presidential election, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, on Thursday called for a comprehensive review of the Association’s electoral provisions, insisting that the controversies surrounding the just-concluded election demonstrated an urgent need for reforms to guarantee transparency and accountability.
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Akangbe made the call during the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he moved for the establishment of a committee to review the electoral provisions contained in the NBA Constitution.
His intervention triggered a sharp and visibly animated response from the outgoing NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, who challenged parts of Akangbe’s account of the election and accused the presidential candidates of contributing to some of the difficulties experienced during the voting process through positions they took on the method of delivering one-time passwords, OTPs, to voters.
The exchange attracted the attention of lawyers seated in the hall, with Osigwe repeatedly gesturing and speaking firmly from the podium while responding to Akangbe. Some members were later seen applauding as the NBA President concluded his response.
Akangbe began by telling Osigwe that he wanted to move a motion and considered it necessary to first explain the background to his proposal.
“I want to move a motion, and I want to give you a background to the motion. I think it is very important for us as an association,” he said.
He stressed the importance of the AGM as a major decision-making platform of the Association and turned attention to the recently concluded NBA national election.
When reference was made to the outcome of the election, Osigwe interjected that the results had already been declared and urged Akangbe to concentrate on whatever proposal he wished to make.
“Results have been declared. It depends on what you mean, ‘we know.’ Just make your suggestions,” Osigwe said.
@thenigerialawyer“We Have An Election We Cannot Audit” — Akangbe Calls For Reform As Osigwe Blames Candidates’ OTP Position For Poll Challenges
Akangbe proceeded, maintaining that irrespective of the declared outcome, the 2026 election had exposed weaknesses that should compel the Association to examine its electoral system.
According to him, “this election, more than anything else,” had brought to the fore the need for electoral reforms.
He declared that anybody who denied the necessity for reform would be “being insincere.”
Akangbe argued that the issue should transcend the outgoing Osigwe administration and the incoming leadership of the Association.
He said that regardless of the fact that one administration was leaving and another was coming into office, electoral reform should remain a priority for the NBA.
He told the gathering that concerns were being expressed about the credibility and transparency of the Association’s elections and warned that the NBA, as an institution that frequently demands accountability from public authorities, must be able to subject its own electoral processes to similar scrutiny.
“What is being said out there? That we run an election that is not transparent,” Akangbe said.
He added that the Association, which holds itself out as a conscience of the nation, should not operate an electoral process that members cannot independently scrutinise.
“We have an election that we cannot audit,” he said while making the case for reform.
Akangbe subsequently put forward his motion, calling for the establishment of a committee to examine the electoral provisions of the NBA Constitution.
“The motion is that a committee be set up to review the electoral provision within the Constitution to ensure transparency and accountability in an election in the NBA,” he said.
Osigwe responded immediately, first reminding the meeting that amendment of the NBA Constitution is governed by an established constitutional procedure and could not simply be accomplished through a motion brought from the floor of the AGM.
He told Akangbe that opportunities had previously been provided for members to propose amendments and reforms.
According to Osigwe, a similar process had taken place around the previous AGM, during which members were given opportunities to make suggestions concerning the Constitution.
He said he could not recall Akangbe using those opportunities to put forward the reform now being canvassed.
Osigwe also told participants that the meeting should not become “an argument session.”
The outgoing NBA President then turned specifically to controversies arising from the 2026 electronic election.
Osigwe said some of the difficulties encountered during the election resulted from a position taken by the presidential candidates concerning the delivery of OTPs.
According to him, the candidates had insisted that OTPs used for voting should not be sent to voters through email.
He recalled discussions with the candidates before the election and specifically referred to Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, another presidential candidate.
Osigwe said he had cautioned during those discussions that the argument that emails could be hijacked and therefore should not be used to deliver OTPs was unfounded and that removing that option could negatively affect voters.
He said the decision was capable of preventing many members from receiving their OTPs as swiftly as they otherwise could.
Osigwe then directly challenged the candidates over whether they had properly explained that position and its possible consequences to their supporters.
“Did you tell your supporters that you people took that stand there?” Osigwe asked during the heated exchange.
He further recalled warning that decisions taken about the electoral procedure could have consequences and questioned whether supporters were told that the candidates themselves had participated in those discussions.
The response was delivered in a visibly animated manner, with Osigwe pointing and gesturing repeatedly as he addressed the election controversy. While the footage does not establish his internal emotional state, his tone and body language reflected a sharp disagreement with the suggestion that responsibility for the problems surrounding the election rested solely with the electoral process or NBA leadership.
Osigwe also reminded the meeting that he was at the end of his tenure and that responsibility for future electoral reforms would ultimately fall within the agenda of the incoming administration.
He referred to NBA President-elect Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, saying he had read her views on electoral reform.
Osigwe maintained that the AGM could not, by an ordinary motion, tie the hands of the incoming President on an issue requiring constitutional amendment.
He said if Badejo-Okusanya considered electoral reform a priority, her administration would have the opportunity to set the direction and commence the appropriate process.
The outgoing President encouraged those seeking changes to the electoral system to prepare concrete proposals that could be presented when an appropriate constitutional amendment opportunity arises.
He told them to be better prepared with specific suggestions on how the reforms they sought should be implemented.
The confrontation came barely weeks after the July 18, 2026 NBA national election, in which Badejo-Okusanya was declared winner of the presidential contest.
Akangbe, who emerged first runner-up, has since raised questions concerning aspects of the electoral process, including the integrity and auditability of the voting records.
The election itself became the subject of petitions and wider debate among members of the Association over the voters’ register, electronic voting procedures, technological disruptions and the level of transparency expected from the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Thursday’s AGM exchange brought those unresolved disagreements directly to the floor of the Association’s general meeting, with Akangbe insisting that the experience should lead to institutional reform and Osigwe maintaining that reform must follow the constitutionally prescribed procedure while also placing part of the responsibility for certain election arrangements on decisions involving the candidates themselves.
Meanwhile, the AGM did not adopt Akangbe’s motion. Osigwe maintained that the proposal required the formal constitutional amendment process, while noting that the incoming administration would have the opportunity to determine the appropriate course for pursuing electoral reforms.
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