By Opeyemi Adelakun
The crisis rocking the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa Branch, has escalated, with aggrieved members threatening to conduct a parallel election if the Branch Electoral Committee proceeds with Tuesday’s scheduled poll without first resolving lingering constitutional disputes over the electoral process.
The threat emerged on Monday after proceedings at the Federal High Court, Akure Judicial Division, where 52 financial members of the branch instituted a representative suit through appointed representatives, seeking preservative reliefs pending the determination of disputes already referred to the constitutional organs of the NBA.
Addressing journalists after the court session, counsel to the plaintiffs, Tope Temokun, Esq., clarified that the action before the court was not intended to invite judicial interference in the internal affairs of the association. Rather, he said the suit seeks to preserve the subject matter while the dispute resolution mechanism provided under Section 21 of the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended in 2025), runs its course.
Temokun disclosed that before approaching the court, the aggrieved members had exhausted the association’s internal mechanisms by petitioning the NBA President, the Dispute Resolution Committee and the Branch Electoral Committee.
According to him, the dispute centres on the Branch Electoral Committee’s alleged refusal to implement resolutions validly adopted during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on June 11, 2026.
He argued that the Electoral Committee, having been constituted by the Branch Congress, derives its authority from the Congress and is neither independent of nor superior to it. Citing Article 11 of the NBA Uniform Bye-Laws for Branches, he maintained that the General Meeting remains the supreme organ of the branch, with its resolutions binding until reviewed by another Congress.
Temokun explained that members at the June 11 EGM considered the peculiar nature of the Okitipupa Branch, whose members are spread across Lagos, Akure, Abuja, Ondo and other locations, while branch meetings have traditionally been held physically without virtual participation.
He added that since 2018, eligibility to vote and contest elections had been based on attendance at two meetings. Consequently, Congress resolved that the newly introduced requirement of attending five branch meetings should be implemented as a transitional measure for the current election cycle, with full compliance taking effect from the next election after members would have had the benefit of attending the required twelve preceding meetings under the Uniform Bye-Laws.
However, he alleged that despite the branch secretary informing members through the official platform that the Congress resolutions were final and binding, the Electoral Committee later issued guidelines insisting on the five-meeting attendance requirement, leading to the disqualification of several members, including a chairmanship aspirant.
The lawyer further accused the committee of violating the Uniform Bye-Laws by failing to publish the voters’ register and list of nominated candidates at least 30 days before the election. According to him, both lists were published on June 16, even though the election was fixed for June 30.
Temokun noted that these complaints had already been submitted to the NBA’s constitutionally established Dispute Resolution Committee, where they remain pending.
He also disclosed that the NBA national leadership had commenced stakeholder engagements aimed at resolving the dispute, with the intervention being coordinated by the association’s Second Vice President.
While commending the national body’s intervention, he expressed concern that the Branch Electoral Committee appeared determined to proceed with the election despite ongoing reconciliation efforts, unresolved constitutional processes and the pending court action in which the committee’s chairman and secretary are listed as the third and fourth defendants.
He warned that aggrieved members had begun consultations on lawful options available to them should the election proceed as scheduled.
Temokun also referred to the branch meeting of June 25, 2026, convened by the Executive Committee, where members present deliberated on the crisis and adopted resolutions that continue to guide the position of the requisitionists.
Speaking separately, disqualified chairmanship aspirant Uche Abangwu, Esq., rejected his exclusion from the race, insisting he met the required attendance threshold.
Abangwu said he attended and hosted the July 2025 branch meeting and also participated in meetings held in March, April, May and June 2026, giving him five qualifying attendances.
He alleged that his attendance at the July 2025 meeting was omitted from the records relied upon by the Electoral Committee despite hosting the meeting and despite the availability of members who could verify his presence.
Abangwu further claimed that although he appealed his disqualification, the Election Appeal Committee failed to furnish him with the respondents’ defence before delivering its decision. He also alleged that the committee’s ruling was unsigned by its five members and was instead issued by an unidentified individual claiming to have signed on behalf of the chairman, thereby denying him fair hearing.
Other aggrieved members also questioned the eligibility of the Electoral Committee chairman, alleging that he did not personally satisfy the same five-meeting attendance requirement imposed on aspirants and voters.
They maintained that if the electoral committee proceeds with Tuesday’s poll, they would conduct a parallel election.
The aggrieved members insisted that their objective is to safeguard constitutional governance, internal democracy and the rule of law within the Nigerian Bar Association.
The NBA Okitipupa Branch election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2026, although ongoing reconciliation efforts by the NBA national leadership continue amid fears that the crisis could result in parallel elections.
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