NBA Decides: Nigerian Lawyers await new leadership, as final lap of campaign intensifies.

Legal Practioners in Nigeria, will tomorrow, Wednesday the 29th day of July, 2020, make one of the most important decisions in their quest to take their Association to greater and better heights. 

The lawyers in every part of the country, eagerly await the election portal to be opened as they seek to get their desirable candidates into the seat of leadership, which the winners will occupy for two years duration. 

While some are already decided on their choice candidates, some camps are still showing concerns as to the preparedness of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) regarding the election scheduled to hold on 29th and 30th of July, 2020.

Plethora of sources recently disclosed to the press, that there is a lack of information between the ECNBA and the candidates. One source working for one of the candidates (names withheld), lamented thus:

"On the technology they want to deploy, we don't know the company they are using. They want to ambush us. We were expecting people to do the right things, but it's obvious they are not ready. 

"The date for the election is not cast on iron, it's fixed for July 29, 2020, but from the look of things, it's not feasible. They can go to National Executive Council (NEC) to seek approval to shift the election and hold the election when they know they are ready and ask us to go to court. Whereas at the Court, before the matter is decided, the person they imposed on us would have served out his tenure. It has happened before. 

"We were supposed to be invited on how the election will take place, modalities for the poll, but that has not happened and they want to hasten the process so that everything is forced on us and we will be helpless and forced to go to court, that is not acceptable. 

"They rely on the fact that nobody will talk . Well, we are talking. If they can fix the problem, the elections can go, but if not, as it is becoming obvious, they should postpone the elections."

Well, days after his lamentations, the status quo remains the same, so we briefly profile the three candidates for the post of the President, below:

1. Deacon Dele Adesina,SAN. 

DDA, SAN is the Principal Solicitor in the Chambers of Dele Adesina & Co, Citygate Chambers of No. 109 Opebi Road, Ikeja, Lagos. 

He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University (then Ife) in 1981. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in July, 1982.

Dele Adesina, was elevated to the prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) on 30th of October, 2007.

He holds a Master of Laws degree, obtained from the University of Lagos, with specialisations in Comparative Company Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Comparative Criminal Law and Procedure. 

Mr. Adesina, SAN has practiced law for 37 years and has run his law firm for about 27 years. 

2. Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN

Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, is the Managing Partner of S. P. A. Ajibade & Co. Since his call to the Nigerian Bar in 1989, Dr. Ajibade has been engaged in active and full time Corporate and Commercial Practice. He has been involved in all aspects of corporate and commercial dispute resolution in Nigeria. 

Dr. Ajibade, is a council member of the Nigerian Bar Association's section on Business Law and is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Sub-committee on Banking, Finance and Insolvency. 

Dr. Ajibade was elevated to the prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in December, 2007. He is a fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London, an International Practice Fellow of the International Bar Association, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom. 

3. Olumide Akpata 

Olumide Akpata, Esq., is a partner in the Corporate and Commercial Law Practice Group, popularly known as 'Templars'. He is currently the head of that group.  

Mr. Akpata, is admitted to practice in Nigeria, and has over two decades of experience in advising clients on various aspects of Nigerian Corporate and Commercial law. 

He has been recognized by the IFLR 1000 as a leading Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer in Nigeria, and by Chambers and Partners as having long experience in representing 'foreign clients' in his area of practice. 

Mr. Akpata, is always called upon to speak at local and international conferences and seminars and currently sits on the Council of the Nigerian Bar Association section on Business Law. He is also the Vice-Chair (West Africa) of the International Bar Association's Africa Regional Forum.

Learned Colleagues, it's over to you!