A former president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh, has urged Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN) and Dr. Babatunde Ajibade to support Mr. Olumide Akpata, who was elected president of the association, yesterday.
Alegeh, in a congratulatory message, commended Adesina, a past general secretary, and Ajibade, who contested for the office of president, for their maturity and candour, urging them, as true leaders of the Bar, to work with Akpata in his efforts to make the association better.
He said it was time for unity in the best interest of the association, adding: “I also implore all other candidates who were unsuccessful at the elections to continue to contribute their quota towards the development of the Bar.”
Alegeh said the elections were over; hence the need for all to come together as a family to offer their support, advice and encouragement to the newly elected national officers to enable them succeed in the task of delivering on the core mandate of the Bar.
“We must appreciate the fact that elections are never perfect and I trust that the incoming administration will improve on the gains recorded in the electronic voting system that guarantees universal suffrage under our constitution.
“We must appreciate the fact that without electronic voting, it would not have been possible for us to hold this election during this COVID-19 pandemic. We must keep improving our electronic voting system.”
He commended the Paul Usoro (SAN) led administration for the successful conduct of the elections and the efforts so far in moving the Bar forward on several fronts, express, saying: “I know that the incoming president will be magnanimous in victory and will run an all-inclusive administration geared towards improving the NBA to handle its core mandate of promoting the rule of law, human rights, as well as the welfare of its members.”
Akpata, a former chairman of NBA Section on Business Law, was declared winner by Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Tawo Tawo (SAN), around 12:52 am yesterday, having scored the highest number of votes cast and satisfied the provisions of the NBA constitution.
Akpata polled 9,891 votes from a total of 18,256 voters who participated in the elections, representing 54.3 per cent, to win the election.
He defeated Ajibade, who scored 4,328 and Adesina, who scored 3,982, to become the 30th President of NBA in the election conducted via electronic voting.
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