Olumide Akpata has emerged the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), defeating two other candidates in the election concluded on Thursday, 30th July,2020.

Akpata, who is the only candidate who was not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at the election, defeated Babatunde Ajibade and Julius Adesina, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

At the last check, Olumide Akpata is leading with 54.8% of the votes ahead of two senior advocates, Babatunde Ajibade and Julius Adesina. So far, over 50% of the estimated 29,636 eligible voters had cast their ballot.

This will be the first time in over 3 decades that the President of the NBA will be emerging from the outer bar, and not among the rank of senior advocates. Akpata is however an expert in corporate and commercial law.

Alao Aka-Bashorun, widely regarded as one of finest Presidents of the Bar who served between 1987 to 1989 during the repressive military regime of Ibrahim Babangida, was not a senior advocate.

Other lawyers had used his example as a campaign weapon to wrest the leadership of the Association from the privileged class of senior advocates

The NBA elections is being conducted online where accredited members voted electronically, amid controversy of lack of transparency by notable activist lawyers like Chidi Odinkalu who accused the electoral committee of managing a rigged process.