It is barely a month and few weeks to the NBA national election. I have watched keenly as the political actors go about their campaign without calumny save for some of their supporters who are always engaged in campaign banters.
During the last election I supported a very popular candidate Arthur Obi-Okafor SAN. I was so passionate about his stolen mandate that we urged him to declare himself NBA president and form a parallel Bar ? ? (thank God he didn’t cave in or succumb to the pressure by his large supporters to do so)
After the said election, I said to myself, if NBA cannot conduct a free, credible and fair election, then there is no need wasting my time in NBA politics. I vowed not to participate in any NBA politics or attend any Conference organized by the instant regime and I have religiously kept to that.
Now coming to the crux of the write up, I have carefully studied the above two dramatis personae as it relates to the coming NBA election. One was the General Secretary during the tenure of Wole Olanipekun SAN and I have taken my time to read up his sterling track records as the GS.
Many very learned and distinguished senior members of the Bar have come out to testify of his antecedents and track records chief amongst them being Femi Falana SAN, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, Jibrin Sam Okutepa SAN inter alia.
I have also read the response of Prof Ogugua Ikpeze who was also an Exco during Dele’s tenure as the GS on Dele Adesina’s championing the issue of young lawyers remuneration during his tenure as the GS.
I was talking with a former Director of the Oil and Gas Proceesing Free Trade Zone Authority last week who is a very senior lawyer of 33 years standing and a Senior partner in our law firm who has also confirmed the person of Dele Adesina SAN to me again, with the foregoing, I am strongly convinced that he is the right man to occupy the OPNBA. I forgot to tell you that he has Aluta spirit in him. Thus, I, my friends and colleagues will vote for him for the president of NBA come next month.
Olumide Akpata Esq is a successful lawyer and a Senior partner at Templars, he is referred in some quarters as the “business lawyer”. He is the former chair SBL-NBA. I love his youthful energy and his zeal to bring paradigm change to NBA especially as it relates to the income and finance of lawyers in Nigeria.
Dear Olumide with the greatest respect sir, I would’ve voted for you IF DELE ADESINA SAN IS NOT RUNING FOR THE SAME POSITION, but be that as it may, my promise to you is that I will be your chief campaigner whenever you will present yourself to run for the position again in the near future.
For the other candidate, undiclosed sources have allegedly fingered him as the likely anointed candidate, but it is my believe that men of good will this time around will not sit down and watch the electoral process hijacked by selfish individuals.
We demand for a free, credible and transparent NBA election and call on the law enforcement agency to pick up anyone or group of persons that will try to scuttle the electoral process this time around.
W. I. Okereke, Esq is a lawyer and writes from Abuja.