Fresh crisis has engulfed the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa Branch, as aggrieved members threatened to conduct a parallel election if the Branch Electoral Committee goes ahead with Tuesday’s scheduled poll without resolving pending constitutional disputes.
The latest development followed proceedings at the Federal High Court, Akure Judicial Division, where 52 financial members of the NBA, Okitipupa Branch, instituted a representative suit seeking preservative orders pending the resolution of disputes already referred to the constitutional organs of the association.
Speaking with journalists after the court session, counsel to the plaintiffs, Tope Temokun, Esq., said the action before the court was not meant to interfere with the internal affairs of the NBA but to preserve the subject matter while the association concludes its constitutional dispute resolution process under Section 21 of the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended in 2025).
Temokun explained that the aggrieved members had first exhausted the NBA’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms by petitioning the NBA President, the Dispute Resolution Committee and the Branch Electoral Committee before approaching the court.
According to him, the dispute arose from the decision of the Branch Electoral Committee to ignore resolutions passed at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on June 11, 2026.
He argued that the Electoral Committee derives its powers from the Branch Congress and is bound by its decisions, stressing that Article 11 of the NBA Uniform Bye-Laws recognises the General Meeting as the supreme decision-making organ of every branch.
Temokun said the Congress resolved that the newly introduced requirement of attending five branch meetings before contesting elections should be implemented as a transitional measure, with full enforcement beginning from the next election cycle.
He noted that members of the Okitipupa Branch are spread across Lagos, Ondo, Akure, Abuja and other locations, while branch meetings had traditionally been conducted physically without virtual participation.
He alleged that despite the Branch Secretary informing members that the resolutions of Congress were binding, the Electoral Committee later released guidelines insisting on the five-meeting attendance rule, leading to the disqualification of several aspirants, including a chairmanship candidate.
The lawyer also accused the committee of violating the NBA Uniform Bye-Laws by failing to publish the voters’ register and list of nominated candidates at least 30 days before the election, stating that both lists were released on June 16 for an election fixed for June 30.
He said all the complaints had already been submitted to the NBA Dispute Resolution Committee and were still pending.
Temokun disclosed that the NBA National Leadership had commenced efforts to resolve the crisis through stakeholder engagements coordinated by the association’s Second Vice President.
He, however, expressed concern that the Branch Electoral Committee appeared determined to proceed with the election despite the ongoing reconciliation efforts and the pending court action.
According to him, aggrieved members have begun consultations on lawful options available to them should the election hold without resolving the constitutional issues.
He also referred to the Branch meeting held on June 25, 2026, where members present deliberated on the crisis and adopted resolutions guiding the position of the aggrieved members.
Also speaking, chairmanship aspirant Uche Abangwu, Esq., rejected his disqualification, insisting that he met the required attendance threshold.
Abangwu said he attended and hosted the July 2025 branch meeting and was also present at the March, April, May and June 2026 meetings, giving him five qualifying attendances.
He alleged that the Electoral Committee deliberately omitted his attendance at the July 2025 meeting despite the fact that he hosted it and several members could confirm his presence.
He further claimed that after petitioning the Election Appeal Committee, he was denied fair hearing because he was not served with the respondents’ defence before a decision upholding his disqualification was hurriedly issued.
According to him, the purported decision was unsigned by members of the five-man committee and was instead signed by an unidentified individual claiming to act on behalf of the chairman.
The aggrieved members also alleged that the Chairman of the Electoral Committee himself did not satisfy the same five-meeting attendance requirement being used to disqualify contestants.
They warned that if the Electoral Committee proceeds with Tuesday’s election, they would organise a parallel poll.
The members maintained that their struggle is aimed at protecting constitutional governance, internal democracy and the rule of law within the Nigerian Bar Association.
With the NBA Okitipupa Branch election scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2026, ongoing efforts by the NBA National Leadership to broker peace may now determine whether the branch avoids a full-blown electoral showdown.
