A presidential candidate in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association National Elections, Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, has described the election as a “charade,” alleging that the process was built on what he called a faulty foundation and exposed deep flaws in the Association’s electoral system.
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In a post-election statement titled “My Assessment Of The Charade; I Saw It Coming,” Akinboro thanked his supporters across the country, saying they stood by him with “unwavering faith, remarkable commitment and abiding belief” in his vision for a stronger, more inclusive Bar.
He said the campaign period gave him the opportunity to connect with lawyers across the country and to directly feel their desire for a Bar that genuinely caters for the interest of its members and reclaims its rightful place in society.
According to him, his engagements during the campaign revealed how “entrapped and captured” the Association had become, alleging that the freewill of members had been subjugated through coercion and cajoling.
Akinboro said he knew he was “running uphill and swimming against the tide,” but decided to make what he described as a sacrifice for the liberation of the Bar and to draw attention to the need to restructure the Association and its electoral process.
The former NBA General Secretary alleged that the 2026 National Officers election was flawed from the outset, citing what he described as the unconstitutional appointment of members of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, the alleged compensation of the Chairman and Secretary of the Committee with appointments into the Body of Benchers, the alleged partisanship of the NBA President, and the appointment of a service provider whose competence he questioned.
He said those issues gave rise to what he described as the “sham” witnessed as an election.
Akinboro also faulted the delayed commencement of voting, saying that although the Revised Electronic Voting Guidelines scheduled voting to begin at 12:00 a.m. WAT on Saturday, July 18, 2026, the process could not start on time after the system allegedly collapsed.
He noted that while the ECNBA attributed the development to a cyberattack on the e-voting platform, the allegation of cyberattack was difficult to accept in the face of what he described as several anomalies.
According to him, his name was allegedly wrongly displayed on the presidential ballot as “Aare Oluwatoyin Muyiwa Akinboro, SAN” instead of Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, while the names of the other presidential candidates, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, and Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, appeared on the ballot.
He also alleged that voter authentication OTPs were sent by email rather than to phone numbers as stipulated in the guidelines.
Akinboro further alleged that the presidential ballot interface displayed only the photograph of Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, while the photographs of the remaining presidential candidates, including his own, were omitted.
He queried whether the anomalies were part of the alleged cyberattack or evidence of incompetence and lack of preparedness by both the service provider and the ECNBA.
Akinboro stated that he had participated in all online NBA National Officers elections but considered the 2026 election the most controversial, saying it exposed the weaknesses in the Association’s electoral system.
He further alleged that he was unable to vote in the election because he was not sent an OTP, adding that several other lawyers also experienced similar challenges.
The senior lawyer said timely interventions were made by well-meaning leaders to save the Association from what he called “monumental embarrassment” and to ensure a free and fair process, but alleged that those who sought to continue benefiting from the flawed system resisted such interventions.
He recalled appearing before the three-man committee of the Body of Past Presidents of the NBA, saying his presentation focused on how to reform the electoral process so the Bar could reclaim its position in society as a model of true democratic process.
Akinboro alleged that the recommendations and outcome of the committee were twisted to malign his candidature.
He maintained that the election justified his position that the system was flawed, saying his candidacy had helped expose the defects in the process.
“I believe that my candidature, having been able to further expose the flaws in our process, it will be clear to everyone who, perhaps, has been living in denial to see that there is need to reform our electoral process and rid it of the flaws that has continued to expose us to public ridicule,” he said.
Akinboro said he entered the presidential race knowing he was up against what he called an entrenched cabal that would not willingly give up power.
He added that he was proud to have stood against all odds in what he described as a quest to wrestle the Association from its claws, saying he did not compromise his intentions for the NBA.
On his next step, Akinboro said he did not consider the election a “do or die affair,” but disclosed that he was consulting with his team on the next line of action.
He urged members of the Association to take advantage of the moment to demand immediate reform of the NBA electoral process.
Akinboro also appreciated lawyers who, according to him, sacrificed their time, energy and resources to ensure that a loud statement was made toward correcting the issues in NBA elections.
The statement was signed by Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, FCIArb (UK), Life Bencher, Past General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association.
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