I Will Resign If NBA Election Was Manipulated – Oyinkansola Badejo-Ojusanya

The President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Olusanya (SAN), has pledged to subject the controversial election that brought her to office to an independent audit and resign if evidence emerges that the outcome was manipulated in her favour.

Speaking on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines, Badejo-Olusanya said she had no intention of presiding over an administration whose legitimacy was questioned.

Her election has been challenged by some contestants who alleged irregularities, including voter disenfranchisement, delayed voting, technical failures and possible manipulation of the process.

Addressing the allegations, she maintained that there was no evidence of rigging and insisted that the election results reflected the will of participating lawyers.

“I will subject this electoral process to a post-election audit,” she said.

“In the very unlikely event that it is discovered that I would not have won but for some manipulation, I will resign immediately.”

The president-elect argued that the election was subjected to unprecedented scrutiny, noting that voting trends remained consistent throughout the exercise and showed no signs of vote dumping.

She attributed many of the challenges experienced during the election to what she described as a cyber attack on the voting platform.

According to her, the electoral committee was forced to deploy a fresh voting platform within hours after the original system was compromised.

Badejo-Olusanya also rejected claims that she benefited from support within the NBA establishment, saying she was unaware of any endorsement by outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe.

She said electoral reforms would still be pursued to strengthen confidence in future NBA elections.

The senior advocate emerged as the first woman to be elected NBA president through a direct vote in the association’s 93-year history.