Former general secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Afam Osigwe (SAN) has emerged as the president-elect.
The 2024 NBA election was held online on Saturday. Voting began at 12 am on Saturday and ended at 11.59 pm. Results were announced on Sunday.
Osigwe secured 20,435 votes, defeating chairman of the NBA-Institute of Continuing Legal Education Governing Council, Tobenna Erojikwe, who garnered 10,998 votes while former NBA Lagos branch chairman, Chukwuka Ikwuazom (SAN), got 9,018 votes.
Osigwe will succeed the outgoing president, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN).
Osigwe earned a bachelor of law degree from the University of Nigeria in 1997 and was called to the bar in September 1999. He started legal practice with Chike Chigbue and Co, Abuja office in 1999 and is presently senior partner at Law Forte, the law firm he founded in 2002.
He became a Notary Public of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2006. In 2007, he obtained a master of law Degree (LL.M) from the University of Jos.
He holds another master of law degree in transnational commercial practice from the Centre for International Legal Studies, Austria.
Osigwe holds a diploma in International Commercial Arbitration of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).
He has carried out research in various areas of law including corporate and business law, land law, banking law, intellectual property; international commercial law, tele-communications, energy, oil and gas law; domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration among others.
As a member of the NBA, Abuja (the Unity Bar), he had at various times served in committees such as the law reporting committee, 2003-2005, bar dinner/awards committee, 2004 and secretary, committee on continuing legal education, 2005-2007 and 2009 till 2010. He had also had the honour of being part of the executive committee of the Unity Bar as the publicity secretary from 2006-2008. He was the chairman of the NBA, Abuja from 2011-2013, and former general secretary of the NBA from 2014-2016.
Osigwe was conferred with the rank of the senior advocate of Nigeria in December 2020.
