*Says Name Was Restored After Over 7,000 Votes Without Picture
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A candidate for the office of member representing the Nigerian Bar Association in the General Council of the Bar, Eastern Zone, Arinze Celestine Chukwu, Esq., has written an urgent protest letter to the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association over the alleged omission of his name from the ballot after voting commenced in the 2026 NBA National Elections.
In the protest letter dated July 18, 2026, and addressed to the Chairman and members of the ECNBA, Chukwu alleged that his name was missing from the ballot from 7:35 a.m., when voting commenced, until about 9:50 a.m., when it was restored without his photograph.
The letter, written at 11:48 a.m. WAT, was titled “My Protest On The Omission Of My Name On The Ballot From 07:35am When Voting Commenced To 9:50am When My Name Was Restored Without My Picture.”
Chukwu said he was writing in his capacity as a candidate contesting for the GCB Eastern Zone position in the 2026 NBA National Officers and General Council of the Bar elections.
According to him, after the ECNBA issued its notice apologising for the delay in the commencement of voting and announcing that voting would commence at 7:35 a.m. and last for 24 hours, he began receiving calls from colleagues who were attempting to vote but could not find his name on the ballot.
He said that after receiving the calls, he immediately logged into the voting portal and was surprised to discover that neither his name nor his picture was displayed in the GCB Eastern Zone section, while the names and photographs of other contestants for the same position were visible.
Chukwu said he immediately sent a complaint to the official ECNBA email address and also reached out to the Chairman of the Committee over the development.
He alleged that while the issue was ongoing, more than 7,000 voters had already voted, while his name remained omitted from the ballot.
He said his name was eventually restored to the ballot at exactly 9:50 a.m., but without his photograph.
According to him, the failure to upload his photograph persisted despite the fact that he had sent it to the Committee through its official email on July 7, 2026, as requested after the virtual meeting of candidates held on July 2, 2026.
“By this development, I had lost over 7,000 votes, and my question is how do I recover the votes already been cast without my name and picture on the ballot?” he asked.
Chukwu maintained that the omission placed him at a disadvantage and denied him a level playing field with other candidates in the GCB Eastern Zone election.
He argued that the omission of a candidate’s name on the ballot is sufficient to invalidate an election under the NBA Constitution.
In his demand, Chukwu called on the ECNBA to schedule a fresh election for the GCB Eastern Zone to allow him compete fairly with other candidates.
He warned that failure to grant his request may leave him with no option but to explore the constitutional remedies available to him.
“Having in mind that omission of a candidate’s name on the ballot under our constitution is sufficient to invalidate the election, I hereby call on the committee to afford me a level playing ground with other candidates on this section of GCB Eastern Zone by scheduling a fresh election for GCB Eastern Zone,” he said.
The protest letter was copied to the NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN; the Chairman of the Body of Benchers; the Chairman of the General Council of the Bar; and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NBA.
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