NBA: No going back on July 18 polls, says electoral committee chairman Ejelam, SAN

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA — The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has doubled down on its plan to hold its 2026 national officers’ election on July 18, describing the date as sacrosanct.

The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the NBA, Chief Aham Ejelam, SAN, in a statement on Sunday, said the election date was fixed in accordance with the revised timetable earlier published by the ECNBA.

Ejelam, SAN, also dismissed calls for the resignation of his committee, which he said remained focused and “not distracted by political pressure from any quarter.”

He said the NBA’s electoral schedule would be adhered to, unless altered by a competent constitutional authority.

The ECNBA Chairman said the statement was in response to an open letter by another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Yomi Alliyu, calling for his resignation.

He said: “I have read the open letter dated 11 July 2026, authored by my learned friend and call mate, Chief Yomi Alliyu, SAN, in which he called upon me to resign as Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA).

“Ordinarily, I would not respond to a publication founded on fabricated assumptions, unverified allegations and matters presently awaiting judicial determination.

“However, because his letter seeks to question the integrity of the ECNBA and may mislead members of the Nigerian Bar Association, it has become necessary to place a few facts on record, particularly as he has made it available to bloggers with his photographs prominently displayed to achieve his purpose of diminishing my person and character, and indeed the Electoral Committee.

“My acceptance of the chairmanship of the ECNBA was not motivated by personal ambition, political patronage or any promise of reward. It was an acceptance of a difficult professional responsibility at a critical moment in the history of the Bar.

“I will not abandon that responsibility merely because Yomi Aliyu, SAN, is unhappy that I occupy that position.

“He has alleged that I am corrupt without presenting credible evidence of corruption. The repeated use of condemnatory expressions cannot transform conjecture into fact, nor can the threat of reputational damage substitute for proof. There are legal consequences for false accusations.

“My record of service to the legal profession spans several decades. I am prepared to have my conduct examined against the NBA Constitution, the applicable electoral guidelines and verifiable evidence — not against personal opinions, political disagreements or speculative questions presented as established facts. Blatant lies do not transform themselves into facts by being constantly repeated.”

Continuing, Ejelam, SAN, contended that the ECNBA derived its authority from the Constitution of the NBA and decisions of competent organs of the Association.

He maintained that since the election was ratified by the National Executive Council of the NBA in line with the Constitution, no one could unilaterally dissolve the Electoral Committee, declare its members illegitimate, or demand their resignation outside the mechanisms provided by the NBA Constitution.

“The ECNBA remains bound by the Constitution and will continue to discharge its mandate unless otherwise directed by a competent organ of the Association or a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The suggestion that the election service provider was imposed upon the ECNBA, or that I accepted a service provider at the direction of any interested person, is false.

“The Committee considered the information and representations placed before it in the course of the procurement and engagement process. The legal structure of a service provider, without more, does not establish incompetence, illegality or electoral compromise.

“Similarly, an allegation concerning the filing of annual returns at the Corporate Affairs Commission does not, by itself, establish that the provider lacks the technical competence to perform the contracted services or that the ECNBA has engaged in wrongdoing.

“Any person possessing credible evidence that the service provider has manipulated a previous election, unlawfully obtained members’ data or compromised the present process should submit that evidence formally to the Committee or to the appropriate investigative authority.

“Serious allegations cannot responsibly be sustained through insinuations in an open letter. The said service provider was never given any opportunity by any committee to respond to such unfounded allegations by a partisan group.

“The ECNBA has not authorised any person to deploy unlawfully acquired data for the 2026 NBA National Officers’ Election.

“The Committee’s responsibility is to ensure that the voters’ register is prepared from records lawfully available to the Nigerian Bar Association and that appropriate safeguards are implemented to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

“The publication of the preliminary and branch-by-branch voters’ registers, the opportunity afforded members to submit corrections, and the sensitisation exercises undertaken by the Committee demonstrate its commitment to transparency — not an intention to conceal or manipulate the process.

“The ECNBA will remain focused. It will not be distracted by political pressure from any quarter. It will continue to treat all candidates and stakeholders fairly and will conduct the election in accordance with the governing framework.

“Every Nigerian lawyer has the right to vote for their preferred candidate and to be voted for. Our mandate is to ensure that Nigerian lawyers exercise that right.

“May the NBA emerge stronger, more united and more committed to the rule of law,” the statement further read.

Meanwhile, the National President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has formally invited the European Union (EU), the United States Embassy, the British High Commission, Yiaga Africa, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), and other reputable international and domestic election observation missions to monitor the election.

In separate letters to the organisations, Osigwe, SAN, said the gesture was to reaffirm the Association’s commitment to transparency, credibility, and democratic governance.

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