A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, has emerged as the 31st President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
Maikyau, polled a total of 22, 342 votes to defeat his major challenger, Chief Joe Gadzama, who got 10, 842 votes out of a total of 34, 564 votes that were cast for the position.
Other national officers of the NBA that emerged from the election that commenced by 12am yesterday, July 16, and ended by 12pm, were: Mrs Linda Bala as 1st Vice President of the association, Mr. Clement Ugo as 2nd Vice President and Mrs. Amanda Demechi-Asagba as the 3rd Vice President.
Others are: Mr. Adesina Adegbite as General Secretary, Mr Daniel Kip Ka-Ayli as Assistant General Secretary, Ms. Chinyere Obasi as National Welfare Secretary, Mr Habeeb Lawal as National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olawole Ajiboye as Assistant Publicity Secretary and Anze-Bishop Ladidi as the Treasurer.
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Announcing the election results, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the NBA, Professor Ayodele Akintunde, SAN, disclosed that out of a total of 59, 392 records of eligible voters from the NBA database, 59, 388 records were okayed to vote.
Professor Akintunde, who made the declaration in Abuja while announcing the result of the poll, stated that 20 lawyers were equally elected as members of the NBA General Council to represent the western, eastern, and northern zones.
He noted that some of the common complaints the Electoral Committee Secretariat received included the inability of some lawyers to correctly input their Supreme Court Number (SCN) as instructed, wrong/invalid contact information, no voting links, as well as multiple email reminders.
In his speech, the newly elected President of the NBA, Maikyau, expressed gratitude and urged all those that contested the election and lost, to join hands with his team to move the association forward.
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Describing the election as free, fair and credible, Maikyau said there was the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to leverage on technology in such a way that the electorates across the country would cast their votes from the comfort of their homes as was done in the NBA.
Maikyau said the NBA under his leadership, would continue to speak truth to power and to do all within its mandate to promote the rule of law and protect human rights in the country.
On his part, the outgoing President of the NBA, Mr. Olumide Akpata, lauded the members of the NBA electoral committee and urged those that lost, to accept it in good faith and work with the newly elected excos to take the association to greater heights.
