The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, ECNBA, Chief Aham Ejelam, SAN, has emphasized that there will be no going back on the July 18, 2026, date for lawyers in Nigeria to elect new national leaders that will pilot affairs of their association and legal profession.
Ejelam who is leading the electoral body that will supervise the election, vowed not to resign his appointment no matter the blackmail and threats from opposing individuals.
In a statement on Sunday, the ECNBA boss said, ‘The election remains scheduled for Saturday, 18 July, 2026, in accordance with the revised timetable published by the ECNBA.”
The committee has publicly reiterated that the process will continue unless altered by a competent constitutional authority.
His statement is coming against the backdrop a statement by Yomi Alliyu, SAN, who called upon him to resign as the chairman of the ECNBA.
Ejelam’s statement read, “I have read the open letter dated 11 July 2026, authored by my learned friend and call mate, Chief Yomi Alliyu, SAN, in which he called upon me to resign as Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA).
“Ordinarily, I would not respond to a publication founded on fabricated assumptions, unverified allegations and matters presently awaiting judicial determination.
“However, because his letter seeks to question the integrity of the ECNBA and may mislead members of the Nigerian Bar Association, it has become necessary to place a few facts on record particularly when he has made it available to bloggers with his photographs prominently displayed to achieve his purposes of diminishing my person and character and indeed the electoral Committee.
“My acceptance of the chairmanship of the ECNBA was not motivated by personal ambition, political patronage or any promise of reward. It was an acceptance of a difficult professional responsibility at a critical moment in the history of the Bar.
“I will not abandon that responsibility merely because Yomi Aliyu, SAN is unhappy that I occupy that position.
“He has alleged that I am corrupt without presenting credible evidence of corruption. The repeated use of condemnatory expressions cannot transform conjecture into fact, nor can the threat of reputational damage substitute for proof. There are legal consequences for false accusations.
“My record of service to the legal profession spans several decades. I am prepared to have my conduct examined against the NBA Constitution, the applicable electoral guidelines and verifiable evidence, not against personal opinions, political disagreements or speculative questions presented as established facts. Blatant lies do not transform themselves to facts by constantly repeating them.
“The Electoral Committee derives its authority from the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association and the decisions of the Association’s competent organs.
“The constitution of the Committee was presented to the National Executive Council of the NBA. Due process was followed in establishing the ECNBA. Nobody can unilaterally dissolve the Committee, declare its members illegitimate or demand their resignation outside the mechanisms provided by the NBA Constitution.
“The ECNBA remains bound by the Constitution and will continue to discharge its mandate unless otherwise directed by a competent organ of the Association or a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The suggestion that the election service provider was imposed upon the ECNBA, or that I accepted a service provider at the direction of any interested person, is false.
“The Committee considered the information and representations placed before it in the course of the procurement and engagement process. The legal structure of a service provider, without more, does not establish incompetence, illegality or electoral compromise.
“Similarly, an allegation concerning the filing of annual returns at the Corporate Affairs Commission does not, by itself, establish that the provider lacks the technical competence to perform the contracted services or that the ECNBA has engaged in wrongdoing.
“Any person possessing credible evidence that the service provider has manipulated a previous election, unlawfully obtained members’ data or compromised the present process should submit that evidence formally to the Committee or to the appropriate investigative authority.
“Serious allegations cannot responsibly be sustained through insinuations in an open letter. The said service provider was never given any opportunity by any Committee to respond to such unfounded allegations by a partisan group.
“The ECNBA has not authorised any person to deploy unlawfully acquired data for the 2026 NBA National Officers’ Election.
“The Committee’s responsibility is to ensure that the voters’ register is prepared from records lawfully available to the Nigerian Bar Association and that appropriate safeguards are implemented to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
“The publication of the preliminary and branch-by-branch voters’ registers, the opportunity afforded members to submit corrections and the sensitisation exercises undertaken by the Committee demonstrate its commitment to transparency—not an intention to conceal or manipulate the process.
“It appears there are people who are uncomfortable with the transparency the ECNBA has consistently shown in the processes.
“My dear Chief Yomi Alliyu, SAN, our shared year of Call, professional relationship and personal interactions should ordinarily require that your allegations be supported with evidence and that you show restraint expected of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
“Christian faith, knighthood and traditional titles should not be deployed as instruments of emotional pressure in your resolute mindset of dissatisfaction over legal and institutional questions.
“I am not unminful that you are an experienced partisan politician which makes it difficult for you to know that the issues at stake concerns our professional association and not that of political parties affairs.
“My conscience is clear. My commitment is to the Nigerian Bar Association and to the credible discharge of the mandate entrusted to the Committee.
“You cannot, and I will not be intimidated by your wild predictions that I will be labelled “the most corrupt ECNBA Chairman” in the history of the Association. Provide evidence of corruption. History is not written by threats. It is written by facts, evidence and the consequences of one’s conduct.
“I remain open to constructive criticism, documented complaints and genuine proposals capable of strengthening the electoral process.
‘I will, however, not surrender a constitutional responsibility because of your abusive characterisations, unaware personal attacks or threats of reputational destruction.
“The ECNBA will remain focused. It will not be distracted by political pressure from any quarter. It will continue to treat all candidates and stakeholders fairly and will conduct the election in accordance with the governing framework.
“Every Nigerian lawyer has the right to vote for their preferred candidate and to be voted for. Our mandate is to ensure that Nigerian lawyers exercise that right.
“May the Nigerian Bar Association emerge stronger, more united and more committed to the rule of law.”
