Breaking: Olumide Akpata Wins Election, Emerges New NBA President

Olumide Akpata has emerged the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), defeating two other candidates in the election concluded on Thursday.

Akpata, who is the only candidate who was not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at the election, defeated Babatunde Ajibade and Dele Adesina, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

Akpata won the 2020 elections with 9,891 votes to defeat Babatunde Ajibade who polled 4,328 votes and Julius Adesina who scored 3,982 votes.

The chairman electoral committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Tawo Eja Taw, declared him the winner of the exercise.

“I Tawo Eja Taw, the chairman electoral committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), as the electoral officer for the 2020 national officers election hereby declare that Akpata Olumide Anthony, having scored the highest number of votes cast and satisfying the provisions of the constitution of the NBA 2015 as amended, as the winner of the election into the office of president of the NBA,” Taw declared.

The NBA election was conducted online where accredited members voted electronically. The portal also showed that there were 29,636 registered voters but only 18,256 persons cast their ballots.

Akpata is an expert in corporate and commercial law and is the former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law.

He is set to take over from Paul Usoro next month.