Badejo-Okusanya surges ahead in initial NBA presidency vote tally

Ahead of the final tally, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has emerged as the front-runner in the Nigerian Bar Association presidential election, with the early results showing her in the lead.

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As of 11:33 am on Saturday, Badejo-Okusanya had secured 4,860 votes, accounting for 41.77 per cent of the counted ballots, according to the early results.

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Her closest rival, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, trailed behind with 3,851 votes, which represented 33.10 per cent of the votes counted so far.

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Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, garnered 2,924 votes, making up 25.13 per cent of the total votes counted at the time.

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The 11,600 votes cast so far indicated a trend in favour of Badejo-Okusanya, although the final results were still pending at the time of reporting.

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This development comes on the heels of NBA President Afam Osigwe's denial of allegations that he was attempting to rig or interfere in the association's national officers' election, just 24 hours prior.

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On Friday, Osigwe addressed journalists in Abuja, stressing that the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association operated independently and did not take instructions from him.

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He also refuted claims that he was backing a preferred candidate, describing the allegations as politically motivated and lacking evidence to support them.

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These remarks followed weeks of controversy surrounding the July 18 NBA election, with some presidential candidates and stakeholders questioning the integrity of the process and calling for its postponement.

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Some had also demanded mandatory National Identification Number verification for voters and accused the NBA leadership of attempting to influence the outcome, allegations that the association consistently denied.

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According to Osigwe, claims that NBA elections had been manipulated in the past had never been substantiated in court.

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Osigwe further dismissed suggestions that his personal voting preference could sway the outcome of the election.