NBA 2018 Election: We haven’t adopted any candidate, says Egbe Amofin

Yoruba lawyers, under the aegis of Egbe Amofin, have distanced
themselves from the decision reached at the just-concluded meeting
of the Eastern Bar Forum in Port Harcourt where a presidential
candidate was adopted for the upcoming Nigerian Bar Association
national election.

The body, in a statement on Wednesday, said it could not have
been represented at the EBF meeting, since it had not held any
meeting of its own in the last three years.

It said since the demise of “our revered leader, Chief Bandele
Aiku (SAN), and the fallout of the adoption brouhaha preceding the
2014 NBA national election” Egbe Amofin “has technically ceased to
exist.”

It recalled that Egbe Amofin had run into trouble due to its
failure to present a concessus presidential candidate for the 2014
NBA national election among “three highly-respected and
well-qualified candidates of our extraction who contested after the
issue of adopting a single candidate for the office of the
President of NBA could not be achieved after several meetings of
Egbe Amofin and Elders of Yoruba.”

It noted that the issue was not ironed out till Aiku died and it
“regrettably culminated in Egbe’s inability to call a meeting to
even discuss Chief Aiku’s final burial rites.”

The body, therefore, said Mr. Ranti Ajeleti could not have
represented it at the EBF meeting in Port Harcourt and adopted any
candidate, as he did not consult with the elders of Egbe Amofin,
particularly Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who was deputy to the
late Aiku.

It said, “Chief Gboyega Awomolo (SAN), Chief Femi Falana (SAN),
the only state governor among us in Egbe, Governor of Ondo State,
Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN),
Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), Asiwaju Niyi Akintola (SAN) and Chief
Emmanuel Abiodun, were not consulted” by Ajeleti.

It reiterated that “it was never the tradition of Egbe Amofin
that Yoruba lawyers will ratify candidates of other fora in foreign
land.

“The tradition is that whatever the decision of any regional
group within the NBA, like the EBF, such decision will be
communicated to Egbe in writing and shall be discussed at a general
meeting or the meeting of elders before a decision is taken.

“The Yoruba lawyers did not adopt any candidate at the last
election because the procedure/conditions for such exercise were
not met by the Arewa Lawyers Forum, whose turn it was to produce
the President.

“The adoption ratified by Mr. Ranti Ajeleti was done in his
personal capacity and lacks the support of Yoruba lawyers.”

Yoruba lawyers, under the aegis of Egbe Amofin, have distanced
themselves from the decision reached at the just-concluded meeting
of the Eastern Bar Forum in Port Harcourt where a presidential
candidate was adopted for the upcoming Nigerian Bar Association
national election.

The body, in a statement on Wednesday, said it could not have
been represented at the EBF meeting, since it had not held any
meeting of its own in the last three years.

It said since the demise of “our revered leader, Chief Bandele
Aiku (SAN), and the fallout of the adoption brouhaha preceding the
2014 NBA national election” Egbe Amofin “has technically ceased to
exist.”

It recalled that Egbe Amofin had run into trouble due to its
failure to present a concessus presidential candidate for the 2014
NBA national election among “three highly-respected and
well-qualified candidates of our extraction who contested after the
issue of adopting a single candidate for the office of the
President of NBA could not be achieved after several meetings of
Egbe Amofin and Elders of Yoruba.”

It noted that the issue was not ironed out till Aiku died and it
“regrettably culminated in Egbe’s inability to call a meeting to
even discuss Chief Aiku’s final burial rites.”

The body, therefore, said Mr. Ranti Ajeleti could not have
represented it at the EBF meeting in Port Harcourt and adopted any
candidate, as he did not consult with the elders of Egbe Amofin,
particularly Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who was deputy to the
late Aiku.

It said, “Chief Gboyega Awomolo (SAN), Chief Femi Falana (SAN),
the only state governor among us in Egbe, Governor of Ondo State,
Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN),
Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), Asiwaju Niyi Akintola (SAN) and Chief
Emmanuel Abiodun, were not consulted” by Ajeleti.

It reiterated that “it was never the tradition of Egbe Amofin
that Yoruba lawyers will ratify candidates of other fora in foreign
land.

“The tradition is that whatever the decision of any regional
group within the NBA, like the EBF, such decision will be
communicated to Egbe in writing and shall be discussed at a general
meeting or the meeting of elders before a decision is taken.

“The Yoruba lawyers did not adopt any candidate at the last
election because the procedure/conditions for such exercise were
not met by the Arewa Lawyers Forum, whose turn it was to produce
the President.

“The adoption ratified by Mr. Ranti Ajeleti was done in his
personal capacity and lacks the support of Yoruba lawyers.”