The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Labour Party governorship flag bearer, Mr. Olumide Akpata has withdrawn his membership of the NBA Lagos Branch. He subsequently announced his official membership of the NBA Benin Branch.
In a notice issued on his verified social media handle, Akpata stated that having relocated to Benin City to pursue his gubernatorial ambition, his withdrawal from NBA Lagos branch and subsequently joining the Benin Branch is in keeping with ‘the NBA’s rules’.
Mr. Akpata wrote:
After over 27 years as a member of the prestigious Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Branch (the Premier Bar), I have officially notified the Branch Chairman, Mr Bisi Makanjuola, of my cessation of membership due to my relocation to Benin City, Edo State, to pursue my gubernatorial ambitions.
On Sunday, May 5th, I attended my first meeting as a new member of the NBA Benin Branch, where I was warmly welcomed by my colleagues. Then, on Wednesday, May 8th, I was back in Lagos for my valedictory Premier Bar meeting, an emotionally significant occasion, bidding farewell to friends and colleagues with whom I have collaborated for close to three decades.
The Lagos Branch provided me with an invaluable platform to serve the NBA in various capacities, culminating in my election as the 30th President of the NBA. For this and many more, I am extremely grateful. I have had cause, in the past, to refer to myself as an “Edo-born, Lagos-based, Warri lawyer,” because I have always felt at home in all three locations.
However, while I remain inextricably linked to the Lagos and Warri Branches of the NBA, Edo State is now my home base, and in keeping with the NBA’s rules, I am now officially a member of the NBA Benin Branch which is also known as the Lion Bar.