Voting in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election continued on Saturday evening, with more than 22,000 lawyers casting their ballots as voter turnout climbed to 27.56 per cent.
The latest update released at 6:52 p.m. showed that 22,645 lawyers had voted out of 82,164 eligible voters, representing 27.56 per cent participation in the ongoing electronic election.
The figures indicate that voting is still underway, with tens of thousands of eligible lawyers yet to cast their ballots.
The election will determine the next president of the NBA, with three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) contesting to succeed the incumbent leadership.
Earlier updates showed a steady increase in voter participation as lawyers across the country logged into the electronic voting platform throughout the day.
Earlier in the day, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, emerged as the early frontrunner, putting her on course to become the first woman to lead the association if the trend is sustained.
Results released at about 11:33 a.m. showed Badejo-Okusanya polling 4,860 votes, representing 41.77 per cent of the 11,635 ballots counted at the time.
Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), secured 3,851 votes, representing 33.10 per cent, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) garnered 2,924 votes, accounting for 25.13 per cent.
Although the final outcome had yet to be declared, the early results placed Badejo-Okusanya in a commanding position.
The election has attracted heightened scrutiny following weeks of controversy over the credibility of the NBAโs electronic voting process.
Ahead of Saturdayโs poll, some candidates and stakeholders called for the election to be postponed, demanded mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters, and alleged attempts by the NBA leadership to influence the outcome.