”WE CAN’T LECTURE INEC”: Ubani raises alarm as technical failures mar NBA presidential polls
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former national officer of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Monday Ubani, has called for a comprehensive post-election review of the association’s recently concluded 2026 national elections, describing the technical glitches that disenfranchised numerous lawyers as a major blow to the exercise’s integrity.
Despite the widespread irregularities, Ubani maintained that the eventual winner of the presidential race, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN), possessed the strength and backing to win convincingly even under flawless electoral conditions.
In a statement published on his official Facebook page on Tuesday, Ubani revealed that both he and his lawyer son were unable to cast their votes due to persistent failure to receive required One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and system timeout error messages (“This site can’t be reached”).
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According to Ubani, a former chairman of the NBA Ikeja Branch and past NBA 2nd vice president, the complaints were too widespread across the country to be dismissed as isolated glitches.
“An electoral process that technically disenfranchises a significant number of eligible voters cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as wholly free, fair, credible and inclusive,” Ubani asserted.
“Whoever insists that there was no problem with the process, in the face of widespread complaints experienced and reported by members, would simply not be presenting a fair account of what transpired.”
Victory intact, but lessons must be learned
Ubani clarified that his criticisms were not aimed at undermining the historic victory of Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya, who polled 12,317 votes to beat fellow SANs Lateef Akangbe (7,934 votes) and Olumuyiwa Akinboro (5,855 votes).
Her landmark victory makes her the first elected female president in the NBA’s 66-year history and the second woman to lead the association after Priscilla Kuye (1991–1992). She is set to assume office as the 33rd NBA President during the annual general conference in Port Harcourt scheduled for August 21–28.
“Indeed, I believe Madam Badejo-Okusanya could still have won resoundingly even without the technical glitches that unfortunately cast a shadow over the process,” Ubani wrote, urging the incoming leadership not to sweep the issues under the carpet.
Drawing a parallel to Nigeria’s political history, Ubani urged the incoming administration to emulate late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who famously admitted in 2007 that the election bringing him to power was flawed and subsequently launched sweeping electoral reforms.
“The legitimacy of leadership is strengthened, not weakened, when legitimate questions surrounding the process that produced it are openly acknowledged and addressed,” he added.
Key questions for the ECNBA
To ensure accountability, Ubani outlined critical institutional questions that the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) must answer.
Why did eligible voters encounter systemic failures receiving OTPs, what was the true extent of voter disenfranchisement caused by technical failure, were adequate contingency measures put in place,and what concrete safeguards will prevent a recurrence in future polls?
Ubani stressed that the NBA cannot credibly demand transparency from public institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) if it fails to uphold the same standards internally.
Rejections, cyberattacks, and low turnout
The 2026 NBA election was fraught with tension long before voting commenced. Scheduled for midnight on Saturday, polls were delayed until 7:35 a.m. due to what the ECNBA described as a “deliberate, coordinated, and sustained cyberattack” on its voting servers.
Only 26,184 out of 82,172 registered voters (31.86%) successfully cast their ballots—a sharp drop from the over 40,000 votes recorded in 2024.
Lateef Akangbe’s stance
Runner-up Lateef Akangbe rejected the results outright, labeling the exercise “shambolic” and “a shame to the Bar.”
Speaking on ARISE NEWS, Akangbe claimed that neither he, his opponents, nor many active voters were able to cast their ballots, adding that the legal profession had become a “laughingstock” to the nation.
Afam Osigwe’s defense
Outgoing NBA president, Afam Osigwe, defended the process, praising the ECNBA’s technical team for swiftly migrating to a secure server following the cyberattack. Calling for healing within the Bar, Osigwe assured members that the ECNBA would undertake a thorough post-election audit.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya on her emergence, describing her election as a milestone for gender inclusion and merit, while calling on her to unite the Bar following the divisive election.
