The crisis surrounding the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa Branch, took a fresh twist on Monday as aggrieved members threatened to stage a parallel election if the Branch Electoral Committee proceeds with today’s poll without resolving contentious constitutional issues.
The threat came after proceedings at the Federal High Court, Akure Judicial Division, where 52 financial members of the branch, acting through appointed representatives, sought preservative reliefs pending the determination of disputes already referred to the NBA’s constitutional dispute resolution organs.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Tope Temokun, said the action before the court was not intended to interfere with the internal affairs of the association but to preserve the subject matter while the dispute resolution process provided under Section 21 of the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended in 2025), is concluded.
He said the aggrieved members had exhausted all internal remedies 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 Electoral Committee’s alleged refusal to implement resolutions reached at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on June 11.
Temokun argued that the Electoral Committee derives its powers from the Branch Congress and cannot act contrary to resolutions validly adopted by the Congress. He maintained that the General Meeting remains the supreme decision-making organ of the branch under the NBA Uniform Bye-Laws.
He explained that members, after considering the peculiar nature of the Okitipupa Branch, whose members are spread across Lagos, Abuja, Akure, Ondo and other locations, resolved that the newly introduced requirement of attending five branch meetings should be applied as a transitional measure for the current election cycle.
He alleged that despite the branch secretary informing members that the Congress resolutions were binding, the Electoral Committee issued guidelines insisting on the five-meeting attendance requirement, resulting in the disqualification of several members, including a chairmanship aspirant.
The lawyer also accused the committee of violating the Uniform Bye-Laws by failing to publish the voters’ register and the list of nominated candidates at least 30 days before the election, adding that both documents were released barely two weeks to the poll.
Temokun said the complaints were already before the NBA Dispute Resolution Committee and disclosed that the association’s national leadership had commenced moves to resolve the crisis through stakeholder engagements coordinated by the Second Vice President.
While commending the intervention, he expressed concern that the Electoral Committee appeared determined to proceed with the election despite the pending dispute resolution process and the subsisting court action.
He warned that members opposed to the process were already considering lawful options should the election hold as scheduled.
Speaking with journalists, disqualified chairmanship aspirant Uche Abangwu insisted that he met the stipulated attendance requirement.
He said he attended and hosted the July 2025 branch meeting and was also present at meetings held in March, April, May and June this year, giving him the required five qualifying attendances.
Abangwu alleged that the Electoral Committee failed to recognise his attendance at the July 2025 meeting despite evidence and witnesses confirming his presence.
He further claimed that the Election Appeal Committee denied him fair hearing by failing to serve him with the respondents’ defence before delivering its verdict. He also questioned the authenticity of the committee’s decision, alleging that it was unsigned by its members and issued by an unidentified individual on behalf of the chairman.
Some aggrieved members also challenged the eligibility of the Electoral Committee chairman, alleging that he did not satisfy the same five-meeting attendance requirement imposed on aspirants and voters.
They insisted that if today’s election proceeds without addressing the issues in dispute, they would conduct a parallel poll.
The aggrieved members maintained that their actions were aimed at protecting constitutional governance, internal democracy and the rule of law within the NBA.
Despite ongoing reconciliation efforts by the NBA national leadership, tension remains high ahead of today’s election amid fears that the crisis could culminate in parallel polls.
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