“NBA Presidential Election Now Requires at Least ₦1bn” — Oyedepo, SAN Raises Alarm At AGM; Okocha, SAN Responds

The cost of contesting for the presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association came under scrutiny at the Association’s 2026 Annual General Meeting in Port Harcourt, as Rotimi Iseoluwa Oyedepo, SAN, expressed concern that the financial demands of NBA elections had become so high that prospective candidates could require as much as ₦1 billion to mount a serious presidential campaign.

Oyedepo, who spoke during contributions at the AGM, said his principal concern was the growing expense associated with NBA elections and the implications for lawyers who might aspire to lead the Association but lack substantial financial resources.

“Yes, my concern mainly is about the election expenses,” he said.

According to him, the emerging financial reality could effectively shut out lawyers without access to enormous campaign resources.

“No junior lawyer can aspire to become president of NBA who cannot guarantee at least one billion naira to spend on that election,” Oyedepo said.

His intervention triggered responses from outgoing NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and former NBA President Chief Onueze Chukwujinka Joe Okocha, SAN.

Responding to the concern over campaign expenditure, Osigwe agreed that the escalating cost of NBA elections was an issue requiring attention.

He questioned the moral basis for lawyers condemning Nigerian politicians for spending huge amounts during political campaigns if the Bar itself permitted an electoral culture in which candidates had to spend heavily to secure support.

Osigwe told the AGM that the problem had previously been considered by a committee on constitutional reform, which proposed measures aimed at reducing campaign expenditure.

According to him, some of the recommendations sought to restrict campaign-related activities, including the type of “hangouts” and other engagements through which candidates expend substantial resources while seeking votes.

The NBA President, however, said those proposals were overwhelmingly rejected by members at the AGM.

“We need to do something at the AGM,” Osigwe said, explaining that the constitutional reform committee had suggested measures to reduce spending.

Tracking Election Polls

He said the Association could not simply blame candidates for spending heavily when members themselves had rejected proposals designed to curb some of the practices driving election costs.

“We rejected it, and we are bound by that,” Osigwe said.

The debate then drew an intervention from former NBA President Chief Onueze Chukwujinka Joe Okocha, SAN, who said he did not intend to join issues with Oyedepo but wanted to correct an aspect of his submission concerning “junior lawyers.”

Okocha pointed out that a junior lawyer could not ordinarily aspire to the NBA presidency because the Association already prescribes eligibility requirements for anyone seeking the office.

“Distinguished colleagues, I don’t want to join issues with Rotimi. I only wanted to, just as an aside, remind him that no junior lawyer can aspire to be President of NBA,” Okocha said.

He stressed that qualification requirements already determine who may contest for the Association’s highest office.

“We have age qualification. If you have not attained, you will not,” the former NBA President said, referring to the eligibility threshold for the office.

Okocha’s intervention therefore drew a distinction between two issues raised in the debate: the formal eligibility requirements for contesting the NBA presidency and the separate question of whether the increasingly expensive nature of elections creates an additional financial barrier for otherwise qualified lawyers.

The exchange highlighted renewed concerns over the cost of NBA national elections and whether campaign practices within the Association should be reformed to ensure that access to leadership does not become dependent principally on financial capacity.

It also revived the question of whether NBA members are prepared to accept tighter campaign regulations, particularly after the AGM had previously rejected recommendations aimed at limiting some of the activities associated with high election expenditure.

The discussion came as the Association concluded the tenure of Osigwe’s administration and prepared for the inauguration of the newly elected national leadership.