The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has intervened in the crisis rocking the 2026 NBA Port Harcourt Branch election, convening a high-level stakeholders meeting that produced a recomposed Electoral Committee headed by a former national officer, removed the Caretaker Committee Chairman from participation in the electoral process, placed the conduct of the poll under the supervision of the chairmen of the eight other NBA branches in Rivers State, and rescheduled the election to Wednesday, August 5, 2026, to enable members review the published voters register.
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The resolutions were contained in a communiqué issued at the conclusion of the meeting held at the NBA Port Harcourt House on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
The election had originally been scheduled for Friday but was postponed indefinitely after some lawyers protested against the process. It reportedly took a combined team of operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services to calm the situation at the NBA House in Port Harcourt.
The protests centred on the voters’ register and the credibility of the electoral process, with the protesting lawyers insisting that the election should not proceed unless there was certainty and clarity on the register.
The crisis had been fuelled by allegations of rigging against the Caretaker Committee, allegations which the Committee Chairman, Idris Abayomi Shehu, denied.
Before the protest, Shehu had reportedly insisted that the election would proceed as scheduled. The committee later reversed itself and postponed the exercise indefinitely, pending further engagement with the NBA President.
The immediate past Chairman of the branch, Cordelia Eke, was reportedly removed from the branch WhatsApp platform after raising concerns over the alleged delay in the release of the voters’ register. She has since been restored to the platform.
Ahead of the meeting, NBA First Vice President Sabastine Anyia, Esq., issued a notice inviting all candidates in the forthcoming branch election, chairmen of NBA branches in Rivers State, and all past chairmen of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch to attend the meeting with the President at the NBA House, Port Harcourt.
The communiqué stated that the meeting was convened “pursuant to the powers vested in the President of the Nigerian Bar Association and in furtherance of his commitment to ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections at all levels of the Association.”
Attendance comprised members of the Caretaker Committee, the chairmen of all NBA branches in Rivers State, past chairmen of the Port Harcourt Branch, and all aspirants contesting in the election.
“The meeting provided a platform for robust and constructive dialogue among all stakeholders. Concerns raised in the run-up to the elections were exhaustively deliberated upon, with a collective resolve to uphold the integrity and transparency in the conduct of the election to ensure the unity of the Branch,” the communiqué stated.
The central resolution was the recomposition of the Electoral Committee.
Idris Abayomi Shehu stepped aside as Chairman of the Electoral Committee but will continue to serve as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee. The communiqué stated that he “will not participate in the activities of the Electoral Committee to allay concerns of members of the Branch.”
To strengthen confidence in the process, Omubo Frank Briggs, a former NBA Third Vice President, was appointed Chairman of the Electoral Committee.
The remaining members of the Caretaker Committee will continue as members of the Electoral Committee, with the addition of the NBA First Vice President and one other member. The committee also includes Dr Azubuike Friday and Dr Hilda Desmond Iheakaire.
The arrangement preserves Shehu’s position as Caretaker Chairman while insulating the electoral process from his involvement, a conflict-resolution approach that separates the administrative leadership of a body from the conduct of the election that will determine its successors.
The stakeholders also introduced an external supervisory layer.
“To ensure credibility and transparency of the electoral process, the Chairmen of the other eight NBA Branches in Rivers State shall supervise the conduct of the election,” the communiqué stated.
The arrangement means the Port Harcourt Branch election will be conducted under the observation of peer branch leadership from across the state, providing oversight from persons who are not members of the branch whose election is being conducted and therefore have no stake in its outcome.
The meeting resolved that “the 2026 NBA Port Harcourt Branch Election is hereby rescheduled to hold on Wednesday, 5th August 2026, to enable members review the published voters register for the purpose of addressing any concern that may be raised regarding same.”
The review window directly addresses the grievance that triggered the protests. Complaints about the compilation and accuracy of voters registers have featured prominently in electoral controversies across the association, including at the recently concluded national election. By creating an opportunity for register-related objections to be raised and resolved before votes are cast, the resolution seeks to prevent such complaints from becoming the basis for post-election challenges.
The communiqué recorded that “all stakeholders present expressed their commitment to the resolutions adopted and pledged to work collectively towards a peaceful, credible, and acceptable electoral process that will produce a duly elected Executive Committee of the Branch.”
It framed the President’s intervention as an affirmation of the association’s values: “The intervention by the NBA President reinforces the Association’s unwavering dedication to democratic principles, the rule of law, and the fostering of unity among its members. The stakeholders express optimism that these resolutions will ensure the seamless conduct of the elections and further strengthen the unity of members of the Bar.”
The communiqué was dated July 25, 2026, and signed by Idris Abayomi Shehu as Chairman, Dr Azubuike Friday as Secretary, and Dr Hilda Desmond Iheakaire as Member.
The 2026 NBA Port Harcourt Branch election will now hold on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.
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