The Anointed vs The Adopted: “Our Concession does not Amount to Adoption of Any Candidate”- Midwest Bar Forum Hits Back at Egbe Amofin
The controversy and intrigues over the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election has continued to simmer as the Midwest Bar Forum (MWBF) has fired back at the Egbe Amofin Oodua (Yoruba Lawyers’ Forum) in a strongly worded letter, making it clear that no individual or group has the power to dictate or impose candidates on its members.
In its reply dated September 22, 2025, and signed by Olukunle O. Edun SAN (Chairman) and Mr. Kelly Ogbe (Secretary), the Midwest Bar Forum acknowledged receipt of Egbe Amofin’s September 17 letter but quickly pointed out typographical errors in dates cited. It corrected the record by noting that the Egbe letter was received in 2025, not 2024, and that the Midwest Forum’s own concession letter was written on August 22, 2025, not 2026 as erroneously referenced.
The MWBF confirmed Egbe Amofin’s assertion that the NBA National Executive Council (NEC) in Enugu on August 23, 2025, adopted the Midwest’s concession of the 2026 NBA presidency to the South-West as part of the constitutional provisions on micro-zoning.
However, while thanking Egbe for affirming those provisions, the Forum rejected outright any suggestion that its members were bound to follow the dictates of any individual, including past NBA President Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN.
“The Midwest Bar Forum has not adopted any candidate for the NBA 2026 General Elections,” the letter declared emphatically.
“The Forum respects the rights of its members to exercise their franchise freely. Every member of the MWBF has only one vote. Therefore, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, past President of the NBA, has only one vote.”
In what appears to be a direct rebuttal of Egbe Amofin’s accusations that Alegeh was encouraging rebellion within the Yoruba Forum, the MWBF distanced itself from any attempt to control voting patterns. The Forum stressed that its concession of the presidency to the South-West was not tantamount to endorsing a particular aspirant.
On the contrary, it disclosed that no fewer than four South-Western candidates are actively canvassing for support and that Midwest members are free to decide which one to back.
The Forum further explained that its concession to the South-West was genuine and had practical consequences:
“The MWBF, having advised its members to step down their aspiration to contest for the office of the NBA President, 2026, and they have since complied, this leaves the field open only to the South-West. The Forum looks forward to the South-West producing the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2026. The MWBF, in the spirit of bar unity, will support the candidate from the South-West that emerges as the NBA President.”
The letter, copied to NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN, NEC members, Trustees, past NBA Presidents, and past General Secretaries, underscored that while the Midwest Bar Forum remains firmly committed to NBA constitutional ideals, it will not tolerate any interpretation of its concession that suggests a surrender of members’ freedom of choice.
