Olumide Akpata: Can he repeat the NBA feat in Edo governorship election?  

 

In the July 2020 election of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata was the only contestant that didn’t belong to the class of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). The other two, Babatunde Ajibade and Dele Adesina belonged to that class which had produced the leadership of the NBA in the 28 years preceding the 2020 election.

 

By the end of that NBA election,  Akpata polled 9,891 votes to defeat the other two who were his legal seniors. They are; Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, who garnered 4,328 votes  and Dele Adesina, SAN, who got 3,982 votes.

Edo Governorship poll 

In the  September 21 governorship election in Edo, Akpata appears as the political rookie among the three frontrunners. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo has a history with the government of Adams Oshiomhole as Special Adviser on the Economy.  He also played that role in the current government of Godwin Obaseki. This is in addition to enjoying the Edo state government machinery behind him.

 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpepbholo is even more grounded politically. This is a man who defeated the candidate former Governor Oshiomhole put forward in the governorship primary. Okpepbholo also enjoys the federal might behind him since he is flying the flag of the ruling party.

 

Akpata comes into the race not with so much advantage as his opponents, a situation similar to the 2020 NBA election. But in that election, he enjoyed the support of the ordinary lawyers who were in the majority and gave him their votes. Will ordinary voters of Edo give him their votes on September 21? Only time will tell.

 

Who is Akpata

Akpata is a 52 year-old  lawyer who was the senior partner and Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at Templars law firm in Nigeria until his resignation on 31 August 2023 to enable him to pursue partisan politics.

 

Akpata obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Benin  in 1992 and was called to the Nigerian Bar  in 1993, before proceeding to serve in the National Youth Service Corps in Kano State.

 

Akpata began his legal practice in Delta state under the tutelage of Dr. Mudiaga Odje, Senior Advocate of Nigeria who was one of the most seasoned litigators of his time.

 

In 1996, Akpata relocated to Lagos and teamed up with his cousin, Oghogho Akpata, who had just set up the law firm Templars the previous year. Akpata joined in the formation of Templars at the age of 23, and has grown the firm into what it is today, as one of the largest law firms in Nigeria with a workforce of about 100 lawyers, including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, both of whom practice proficiently in diverse areas of Nigerian law.

 

 

Akpata was chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL). before his election as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association  on July 30, 2020.

 

On August 1, Akpata formally entered the political arena by joining the Labour Party. He is now the flagbearer of the party in Edo State, the state where the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, won the majority votes.

 

All eyes will be on this lawyer who has managed to set a record four years ago in the NBA election. Can he re-enact that?