NBA GWAGWALADA BRANCH ELECTION: This is no longer a question of who wins or loses; it is a fundamental battle for justice, integrity, and the sacred rule of law.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on June 4, 2026, convened with the sole agenda of receiving the electoral committee’s report, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Mr. Luke Enelechi, made a staggering admission.
With the branch election scheduled for June 6, 2026, barely 36 hours away, Mr. Enelechi confessed that his committee is in direct violation of Section 15(3) of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law 2025. The provision explicitly mandates that the final list of eligible voters must be published at least 14 days prior to the election.
To the absolute chagrin of members present, while deliberations on this fatal flaw were still ongoing, the Electoral Committee brazenly published yet another “interim” list of eligible voters on the official NBA Gwagwalada WhatsApp platform.
The “Constitutional Handcuffs”
It is a trite point of law that Section 15(4) of the Uniform Bye-Law strictly prohibits any committee, branch executive, or organ of the NBA from waiving the requirements of Section 15. The 14-day publication rule is absolute.
Consequently, the electoral committee is constitutionally handcuffed and legally impotent from conducting the scheduled election.
Should the election be rightfully rescheduled, the tenure of the current Branch Executive expires in just 7 days. In this scenario, the law provides a clear recourse under Section 10 of the Uniform Bye-Law: the inauguration of a Caretaker Committee tasked with conducting a credible election.
Corruption and Arbitrary Disqualifications
Compounding the constitutional breach, the voter list released just 36 hours before the polls is heavily tainted with corruption. In a desperate bid to tilt the scales, the committee systematically substituted eligible voters with ineligible individuals believed to be sympathetic to the executive’s preferred candidates.
It is important to note that a member of the Electoral committee (Jumoke Adeoti) in a letter to the Electoral Committee accused the committee of corruption and inserting list of ineligible voters and excluding her in committee delibration.
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Furthermore, the embattled committee arbitrarily disqualified numerous eligible voters on the grounds that they paid their Bar Practicing Fees through Abuja.
This is a malicious resurrecting of an issue already settled by the Branch Election Appeal Committee, which previously overturned the wrongful disqualifications of N.D. Abdulsalam and Maria Edet on these identical grounds.
Chaos, Defiance, and an Impending Crisis
The blatant disregard for due process reached a boiling point when a formal motion for the dissolution of the Electoral Committee was moved by Mr. Julius Angbasim. In an authoritarian display, the Branch Chairman, Clever Owhor, refused to entertain the motion. Instead, he abruptly adjourned the meeting, dogmatically insisting that the flawed election must proceed on June 6.
This high-handedness triggered a severe uproar, ending the meeting in absolute chaos. Shockingly, the Chairman was later seen boasting that the Manifesto screening would still hold today, June 5, 2026, completely unbothered by the brewing storm.
A Call to Action
We are using this medium to make an urgent appeal to all well-meaning members of the branch to prevail upon the Branch Chairman and the Electoral Chairman. They must not proceed with the manifesto or the election, given the needless and volatile crisis it is bound to generate.
The motto of the Nigerian Bar Association is “Promoting the Rule of Law.” It would be a monumental shame and an indelible stain if the custodians of the law cannot abide by their own constitution. For the sake of the unity of our branch and the sacrifices of our past leaders, we must stop this drift into anarchy.
A formal appeal has also been dispatched to the NBA National President, urging the parent body to intervene immediately before the Gwagwalada branch implodes.
N.D Abdulsalam
Chairmanship Candidate NBA Gwagwalada.
