The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN has directed the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to postpone its forthcoming national elections from the originally slated date of Saturday, July 18, 2026 to August or later….
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN has directed the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to postpone its forthcoming national elections from the originally slated date of Saturday, July 18, 2026 to August or later.
This forms part of his directives after noting the recommendations of a high-powered Peace committee headed by former NBA president, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, in a bid to resolve the lingering controversies surrounding the forthcoming election.
In a document sighted by TVC News, bearing the AGF’s signature and dated July 6, 2026, Mr Fagbemi also called for the disbandment of the Electoral Committee due to the alleged open preference of the NBA president, Afam Osigwe, SAN, for the only female presidential candidate in the race, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN.
The AGF also called for the disengagement of the current service provider for the election and the appointment of a new service provider.
It was further directed that an Independent Electoral Oversight and Audit Committee be set up to oversee the elections, and that “NIN be compulsorily used” during the exercise.
But in a swift reaction, the NBA president Afam Osigwe, SAN, stated that such directives are unconstitutional, as the NBA is an independent body which is not subject to the control and directive of the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation or any other arm of government.
In Mr Osigwe’s words, “The Honourable Attorney General is at best a party/mediator, and it is settled that a mediator does not give directives to the parties in a matter, (pending in court) in which he is a party.”
The NBA president also declared that the election shall continue as scheduled by the Electoral committee.
While rejecting the AGF’s intervention, he added that, the NBA having clear decision-making organs, will only subject itself to its constitutional mechanisms, and that the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation is not one of them.