The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, will this weekend, elect a new president to lead the association for the next two years.
The lawyers will also elect a general secretary and other national officers.
The national officers to emerge will not assume office immediately, but will wait till the end of the Annual General Meeting of the association in August, when Mr. Olumide Akpata’s administration will come to an end, then enter those that have been so elected.
This year’s election will try to break the jinx of allegation of rigging and manipulation of results that had trailed previous elections.
Also, it’s hoped that some of the major challenges that characterised previous elections will be addressed this time around, such as difficulty in accessing the election portal, voters not being able to do verification to vote on time, some contestants not being able to monitor the voting process satisfactorily and disparity between total votes cast and actual number of lawyers that voted, among others.
Candidates for the position of 1st Vice-President are Bala Linda, Bawa Yakubu and Liman Salihu.
For the position of General Secretary, those to face the voters are Adegbite Adesina, Asenoguan Osamuede, Ogiegbaen Benson and Yamah Desmond.
Aka Oluwaseun, Balogun Dhikrullah, Kip Daniel and Oseme Peremene are to fight it out for the post of Assistant-General Secretary.
The Treasurer has Adeogun Funmilola, Anze-Bishop Caroline and Balarabe Safiya as contestants.
The Publicity Secretary position will see Emoghwanre Ogaga and Lawal Akorede battle each other at the poll; while the post of Assistant Publicity Secretary will be contested by Ajiboye Charles and Nwoye Akachukwu.
For General Council of the Bar, 22 candidates were listed, namely: Abdullahi Faskari, Agada Mercy, Agbaga Dennis, Agi Anne, Aikpokpo-Martins John, Akintayo John, Anagor Raphael, Anizoba Obi, Bello Abdulganiyu, Edun Olukunle, Igba Theophilus, Lagbamue Israel, Maidoki Muhammad, Muhammad Asmau, Munguno Mohammed, Nduka Rapuluchukwu, Nwaeze Nwaebuka, Okwun-Kalu Dave, Oladapo Olalekan, Onwere Victor, Oyeyiola Durodoluwa and Usman Joshua.
Since campaigning was declared open few weeks ago, the candidates have been touring the various branches across the country, selling the programmes and policies they intend to pursue when they emerge. In like manner, friends, associates and supporters have continued to campaign and show support for their preferred candidates.
President
Jonathan Taidi
Jonathan Taidi, lawyer, activist and humanitarian, was called to the Bar on January 23, 2001.
His flair for humanitarian service saw him gravitate towards championing pro bono cases mostly for Awaiting Trial inmates under the Social Security for Better Future Initiative, a non-governmental organisation which facilitated his attending the 15th Commonwealth Lawyers Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in September, 2007 and upon return, ventured into full-time private legal practice in Minna, Niger State.
J. G. Taidi, as he is more often called, is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Minna Branch and has served that noble body in various committees. He was elected Secretary of the Branch in March, 2008 and together with other members of that Executive, succeeded in restoring the voice of the Branch which theretofore had regressed into no more than a glorified government parastatal.
Yakubu Maikyau, SAN
Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, obtained his Bachelor of Laws, LLB, Degree in 1989 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was called to the Bar on December 12, 1990.
After his mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme in 1991, Y. C. Maikyau joined the law firm of Messrs. Danladi Bamaiyi and Company at Sokoto, where he worked for 13 years and rose through the ranks to become the Head of Chambers. In 2003, he founded his own law firm, Y. C. Maikyau & Co. with offices in Abuja and Sokoto.
He was appointed Notary Public in 2002 by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on August 26, 2011. In June, 2014 he obtained a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, United Kingdom.
Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN
Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 and enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria the same year. Chief Gadzama was appointed Notary Public in June 1996 and elevated to the worthy rank of SAN in 1998. His professional experience spans a vast area of adjectival/procedural and substantive law. One of the country’s highly regarded lawyers, he has for three decades been external solicitor to several merchant, commercial, development, and industrial banks; adviser to major multinational corporations, indigenous companies, organisations and a network of high networth individuals in Nigeria.
1st Vice-President
Bala Linda
Mrs. Linda Bala, born December 5, 1958, hails from Kagoro in Kaura LGA of Kaduna State.
Linda Rose Bala also holds a Diploma in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was a university parliamentarian.
In 1992, she obtained her LL. B (hons) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was called to the Bar on December 15, 1993.
Upon admission to the Bar, she registered as an active member of the Bauchi branch of the NBA.
Her passion for the Bar got her co-opted into the Committee of Chairmen & Secretaries, who were saddled with the responsibility of travelling round Nigeria to ensure that the lingering issues arising from the 1992 NBA crisis were resolved and the NBA national election was successfully held in 1998.
Bawa Yakubu
Was Chairman, NBA, Jos Branch, 2020 till date; Vice-Chairman, NBA, Jos Branch, 2018 – 2019; Chairman, Human Rights Committee, NBA, Jos Chapter, 2018 – 2019; Notary Public of the Supreme Court, 2014; Principal Partner, Bawa, Bawa & Partners (Legal Practitioners & Consultants), May, 2012 till date.
Liman Salihu
“I have actively participated in all the activities of my Branch, NBA Lokoja over time. I have also served NBA Lokoja Branch in various executive capacities, starting from Assistant Secretary from 2007 to 2009, Branch Secretary from 2009 to 2011 and as Chairman from 2015 to 2017. I have had the privilege of being member of the National Executive Committee of the NBA from 2009 to 2020, 11 years consecutively without any break. This is from the presidency of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to Paul Usoro, SAN’s time consecutively.
General Secretary
Adegbite Adesina
Graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 2002, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2004. He has handled several matters in the High Courts of various states in the federation, Federal High Courts and has appeared in several appellate courts including the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He has extensive experience in civil litigation and commercial law practice. He is very active in the activities of the Nigerian Bar Asociation, and he was the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch (2012-2014). He is also a member of the International Bar Association, IBA and has attended several international conferences.
Asenoguan Osamuede
Isobomuwa
Asenoguan Osamuede Isobomuwa was born on September 12, 1970, in Edo State. He is a Notary Public of Nigeria and the Principal Partner, Asenoguan, Oghahenhen & Associates, a notable law firm based in the heart of Benin.
He has been in active legal practice for the past 23 years.
In 1992, he proceeded to Edo State University (now Ambrose Alli University) and after five years of study, he obtained his Bachelor Degree in Law (LL.B (Hons.) in 1997. After his university education, he served Nigeria dutifully under the NYSC Scheme from 1998 to
1999 at Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
Ogiegbaen Benson
“I have over the years served our August Association in various capacities at the national and branch levels. I was Secretary of the Benin Branch of the NBA between 2012 and 2014 and a Member of the National Executive Council of our great association within the same period. I was Chairman of the Benin Branch of the NBA from 2018 – 2020 within which period I was also a Member of the National Executive Council of our association. Indeed, the Benin Bar assumed the sobriquet ‘‘The Lion Branch’’ under my tenure as Chairman to commemorate the critical steps that we took while in office and the many things we dared to do on behalf of our great association. I am currently the National Executive Committee Representative of the Lion Branch to the National Executive Council of our great association and sadly, the last as a result of the recent amendments to the Constitution of our association.”
Yamah Desmond
“I, Desmond Yamah, Past Publicity Secretary and Past Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch and currently the Co-Chairman of the National Secretariat Restructuring Committee do hereby solicit your support in my quest to be elected the General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association in the forthcoming elections. Over the years, I have garnered extensive experience in my service to the Bar and I have worked very closely with the current administration to be adequately knowledgeable in the various activities that have lifted the NBA to its enviable position today.
