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Nigerian Bar Association President Afam Osigwe has dismissed complaints by a defeated presidential candidate, describing allegations of a flawed election as “strange” and “sensationalism” following the victory of Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya in the association’s national poll.
Speaking on News Central’s Breakfast Central on Monday, Osigwe responded to a statement by candidate Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, who had described the election as “shambolic” and “a shame to the bar.”
“I am a presidential candidate. I could not vote. The ECNBA Chairman and the NBA President personally sent me five separate links. Not one of them worked. If they could not get the platform to work for a candidate they were personally trying to help, what happened to the ordinary member in Jalingo or Ado-Ekiti who had no one highly placed to call?” Akangbe had said.
Osigwe told News Central that Akangbe had reached out to him and that he had forwarded the complaint to the NBA Electoral Committee, while also warning that the link sent to him was a phishing attempt.
“Yemi Akangbe reached out to me, claiming that so many links were being sent, circulated. And I forwarded the same to the ECNBA and reverted to Yemi to say that the link he sent to me was a phishing link. And I sent him the official link from ECNBA,” Osigwe said.
The NBA president disputed Akongwe’s claim that he received five different links to access the voting portal.
“I don’t know where he’s getting this idea of five different links. There were no five different links. There was only one link,” Osigwe said.
“We would have to publish this screenshot conversation between Yemi Akongwe and I. I don’t know if Yemi Akongwe voted or could not vote or whether he chose not to vote.”
Nigerian Bar Association President Afam Osigwe has dismissed allegations by the association’s presidential candidate, Yemi Akangbe, that multiple voting links were sent to him during the association’s election.
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Osigwe said he had attempted to assist Akangbe by providing contact details of a technical expert when the candidate complained that over 4,000 supporters could not vote.
“But from day one, Yemi Akangbe was among those who were criticising everything, and nothing was good enough for him,” Osigwe said.
“I don’t want to be dragged into this process. I only try to assist. And I complained to Yemi Akangbe that I was not ECNBA, that he shouldn’t be reaching out to me.”
The NBA president challenged Akangbe to publish the five links he claimed to have received.
“I dared him to publish the five different links that we sent to him, at least I never did. Whatever the only link I sent to him, I got from ECNBA. And I think he should stop sensationalising this election,” Osigwe said.
The election saw Badejo-Okusanya emerge as the 33rd President of the NBA, polling 12,317 votes (47.18 per cent) to defeat her two male challengers.
Akangbe secured 7,934 votes (30.39 per cent) to finish second, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro polled 5,855 votes (22.43 per cent).
A total of 26,184 lawyers participated in the election, representing a 31.86 per cent turnout of the 82,172 registered voters.
