The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Kaduna Branch yesterday threw its weight behind the candidacy of Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, to succeed Olumide Akpata as NBA President.
The NBA national election will be held on Saturday with three candidates in the presidential race.
They are Maikyau, Gadzama Joe-Kyari, SAN, and Taidi Jonathan, while the 1st Vice-President contestants are Bala Linda, Bawa Yakubu and Liman Salihu.
Fifty-three candidates have been cleared tos contest and over 60,000 lawyers are eligible to vote.
The branch, in a statement seen by The Nation, explained that it is its “age-long tradition” to adopt a candidate for the office of the President of the Bar.
Chairman of the Branch, M T Mohammed, spoke on behalf of members.
He said: “In accordance with the branch’s tradition, leaders of the branch consisting of all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, past Chairmen, past Secretaries, serving branch officers, current past YLF Coordinators, and very senior lawyers called between the year 1993 or before were invited to a stakeholder meeting to deliberate and come up with a sole candidate to be adopted by the branch as its preferred candidate to be supported by the branch among the candidates for the office of the President of NBA.
“At the end of the exercise and after a thorough analysis of the relevant factors which have always guided us in reaching a conclusion in such situations, the meeting under the leadership of the Bar leader Yunus Usman SAN on the 4th July 2022 adopted Y. C. Maikyau, SAN as the branch’s preferred candidate for the office of President of the NBA.
“We have been treated to robust campaigns on and outside this platform. We all have a fair knowledge of the candidates sufficient for us to come to a conclusion.
“This decision was ratified at the Monthly Branch Meeting held on Friday, 8th July 2022 with an overwhelming majority.”
The positions being contested for in the election, according to the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), include President, 1st Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President, 3rd Vice-President, General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, Treasurer, Welfare Secretary, Publicity Secretary, Ass. Publicity Secretary and General Council of the Bar.