The Nigerian Bar Association’s general elections held on Saturday, July 18, 2026, have been widely condemned by leading candidates as deeply flawed and lacking credibility. Despite 82,164 accredited voters, turnout plunged to approximately 27%, a sharp regression from over 56% in previous elections, amid platform collapse, untested last-minute changes to SMS authentication, prolonged glitches, massive disenfranchisement and reports of double voting. Below are excerpts of statements made by Presidential Candidate Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, and General Secretary Candidates, Okey Leo Ohagba and Chidi Ezenwafor who lay their complaints, while the first two revealed that they themselves were unable to vote! They described systemic failures that suppressed participation, eroded trust, and undermined the Bar’s moral authority to demand transparency and accountability from others ahead of the 2027 general elections
Candidate for NBA President, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN – ‘This election was shambolic. It is a shame to the Bar’
Thank you Distinguished Colleagues.
Some of you succeeded in voting. The vast majority of you did not. Some of you tried for hours, and were locked out by a platform that was never built to carry the weight of your democratic will. You were disenfranchised, not by choice but by infrastructure. Not by apathy but by failure. I saw the Branch Chairmen who spent the night fielding calls from members who could not vote, and did not know why.
